Highway patrol: Teen killed in wrong-way crash on I-71 in Warren County
A 17-year-old was killed following a head-on crash on Interstate 71 in Warren County early Thursday, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
The crash happened around 1:39 a.m. in Deerfield Township, the patrol said in a news release, adding that the teen was driving his 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee the wrong way on I-71 South when he struck a tractor-trailer head-on.
Both vehicles veered off the roadway and the tractor-trailer overturned, the patrol said. The tractor-trailer's driver was taken by ambulance to the Kings Mills Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, while the teen died of his injuries at the scene.
Officials said the interstate reopened just after 8:30 a.m. The patrol's investigation into the crash is ongoing.
While wrong-way collisions make up a small fraction of all car crashes, they are 40 times more likely to end in death, state officials say. State traffic data show that such crashes are rising in Ohio, with 182 wrong-way crashes occurring on divided highways in the state last year.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Teen killed in wrong-way crash on I-71 in Warren County
