7 days ago
1 dead after truck sideswiped, causing fiery crash
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WESTFIELD TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WJW) — A 52-year-old woman was killed after a truck in which she was a passenger was sideswiped, causing a fiery crash, according to state troopers.
It happened just before noon on Sunday, Aug. 10, along Interstate 71 in Westfield Township, according to a news release from the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
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Troopers learned a Chrysler 200 sedan and a Ford F250 pickup truck, which was carrying the woman and hauling a fifth-wheel trailer, were both headed north on I-71 near milepost 206 in the township.
The sedan was traveling at a high rate of speed when it sideswiped the pickup truck, causing it to overturn, according to OSHP. The truck became detached from the trailer, went over a bridge overpass and then down an embankment and onto railroad tracks, where it burst into flames and became fully engulfed.
A Honda Odyssey minivan also headed north on I-71 at the time was struck by debris from the crash, according to the release.
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The truck's passenger, identified as 52-year-old Tracy Hodgkinson, of Painesville, was ejected from the vehicle. She was flown to an Akron hospital, where she died of her injuries, according to the release.
The driver of the pickup truck, a 41-year-old Painesville man, was transported to the same hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, according to the release.
The driver of the sedan, a 19-year-old from Akron, was not injured.
The interstate was closed in both directions for an hour-and-a-half.
The crash remains under investigation. The Monday release does not state whether charges have been filed.
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