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Route 22 accident leaves one dead

A STAT MedEvac helicopter prepares to land Tuesday at an accident scene on U.S. Route 22, near state Route 43, in Harrison County. One person was transported by the helicopter to a Pittsburgh hospital with serious injuries. While the helicopter was attempting to land, a car in the opposite lane hit a parked vehicle, the Ohio State Highway Patrol reported. (Photo courtesy of Wintersville Fire and Rescue)

WINTERSVILLE — The Ohio State Highway Patrol investigated a series of accidents on U.S. Route 22 on Tuesday morning, one of which involved a fatality.

A trooper reported a truck hauling steel coils, driven by Donald Golob, 67, of Brooklyn, Ohio, was following a pickup truck, driven by Joshua Winstanley, 19, of Reno, Ohio, on U.S. Route 22 at county Road 13 in Harrison County around 6:55 a.m. Winstanley attempted to turn onto county Road 13 and the truck was unable to stop and attempted to pass, the patrol reported. The truck and pickup collided and went off the left side of the road striking a guardrail, a trooper said.

The load on the truck broke free, striking the cab of the truck, according to the patrol. Golob was pronounced dead at the scene. Winstanley was not injured, a trooper said.

Crash reconstructionists from the patrol were called to the scene. The patrol reported the accident remains under investigation.

A second accident happened on eastbound U.S. Route 22, east of state Route 43, around 10:40 a.m. on Tuesday.

A car driven by Robert Smith, 48, of Scio went off the left side of the road, came back on the road, went off the right side of the road, hit an embankment and overturned, the patrol reported.

Smith and a passenger, Brenda Kovacs, 46, of Scio were trapped inside the vehicle and had to be freed by Wintersville Fire and Rescue, a trooper said.

Jennifer Ortiz, 24, of Steubenville saw the wreck while traveling westbound on the highway, according to the patrol. She got out of her vehicle and attempted to render aid.

A medical helicopter was called to the scene to transport Kovacs, who had serious injuries, to a Pittsburgh hospital. A trooper said Ortiz had lost her keys and was told by a trooper around 11:26 a.m. on Tuesday to get into her vehicle to wait until after the helicopter had landed.

A car driven by Kain Hess, 23, of Weirton, was traveling about 70 mph in the westbound lane. Patrol Sgt. Rob Bodo said Hess admitted he was looking up at the helicopter and his car veered off the road into the rear of vehicle in which Ortiz was sitting. Hess and Ortiz were transported to Trinity Medical Center West, where they were treated and released, according to a Trinity spokesman. Smith was transported to Trinity and was still being evaluated on Tuesday afternoon, according to the hospital spokesman.

Hess was issued a citation for failure to control.

Bodo said it was an example of a driver not paying attention at a crash scene.

“People need to use caution when driving through an accident and don’t rubberneck. It is a perfect example of a person rubbernecking at a crash,” he said.

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