A three-vehicle crash sends one
driver to Miami Valley Hospital by CareFlight on Friday afternoon. The crash occurred around 12:15 p.m. at the intersection West Dallas Road and U.S. Route 68. Pictured are Urbana Fire personnel working to free a man from a Hyundai Santa Fe. Citizen photo by Alex Howell
A man was transported by CareFlight to a Dayton hospital after a crash that snarled traffic in both directions on U.S. Route 68 south of Urbana Friday afternoon.
Denny Howell, 56, of Enon, was being treated in the intensive care unit at Miami Valley Hospital as of press time.
Around 12:15 p.m., a northbound 1991 Toyota pickup truck, driven by William L. Ferell, 41, of Urbana, was rear-ended by a 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix driven by Danielle York, 23, of Urbana as Ferell slowed to make a left turn onto West Dallas Road.
The crash reportedly caused the truck to go airborne and flip before it collided with an oncoming 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe sport-utility vehicle driven by Howell, which then rolled into a ditch.
The Urbana Fire Division and Champaign County Sheriff's deputies responded to the scene along with troopers and the crash remains under investigation, according to a press release from the Ohio State Highway Patrol's Marysville Post.
Capt. Mark Keller of the Urbana Fire Division said two passers-by were instrumental in helping the crash victims before paramedics arrived and while those injured were prepared for transport.
One of them was Don Hatcher of Urbana, who is a videographer for Channel 2 News and also provides photographs to the Daily Citizen.
"He and a UPS driver helped us out a lot at the scene," Keller said.
Hatcher said he was on his way back to work in Springfield from lunch at his home on Woodburn Road when he heard about the crash on the emergency-band scanner in his vehicle.
"I turned around and I knew I would probably beat the medics," he said. "When I got there I saw a bunch of people milling around and one guy tried to stop me when he saw the camera, but I put it down and said, 'that guy needs help.'"
Hatcher said he's no stranger to accident scenes, so he knew what to do to keep Howell stabilized and prevent further internal injuries until an ambulance arrived.
"He was in pretty bad shape," Hatcher said. "He was choking and I tried to hold him still so he wouldn't hurt his back until the paramedics were able to suction him, and there was a lot of blood when they inserted the breathing tube. He never did come to."
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