Ohio News Briefs

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Dad of boy hit by car didn’t condone driver’s fatal shooting

CINCINNATI (AP) — The father of a 4-year-old boy hit by a vehicle in Cincinnati said he doesn’t condone the subsequent slaying of the driver and is sorry for the man’s family.

The driver, 44-year-old Jamie Urton, got out of his car after hitting the child around midday Friday and was repeatedly shot in a confrontation with onlookers in the Walnut Hills neighborhood, police said.

Initial reports indicated the boy was struck while in or crossing the street, but his father, Jamal Killings, told WCPO-TV the child was at the curb. Killings said he had tried to stop the car for going too fast in a neighborhood full of playing kids, and it slowed down a bit but then swerved around him and struck the boy.

Killings said he tended to his son, who suffered bleeding in his brain but is now out of the hospital, and he didn’t realize someone shot the driver.

“My job as a father was to get my son face-first off the concrete and take him to see medical attention, and that’s what I did,” Killings said.

He said that he doesn’t condone violence and that Urton’s shooting shouldn’t have happened.

“It’s an unfortunate situation, unfortunate event, but I hope we all can learn from this,” Killings said.

Urton died at a hospital. Police said they were looking for several suspects.

Ohio gas prices dip further below unchanged national average

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Gas prices have dipped in Ohio since last week, sending the average back to where it stood a month ago.

The state average for regular gas was $2.13 per gallon in Monday’s survey from auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and WEX Inc. That’s 7 cents cheaper than a week ago and a little higher than at this time last year, when the average was $1.94.

The national average has remained relatively steady for a few weeks and was about $2.29 on Monday, matching the average a week earlier. It was lower at this time last year at $2.04.

AAA has said gas prices are expected to rise this spring as refiners switch from winter-blend to summer-blend gasoline.

Ohio township sees 2nd triple-fatal crash in a week

CURTICE, Ohio (AP) — Ohio troopers say three people died in an alcohol-related crash in a township near Toledo, marking the second time in a week that has happened in that town.

The State Highway Patrol says the latest fatal crash happened early Sunday in Jerusalem Township, east of Toledo.

The patrol says the driver of a van ran through a stop sign and hit a car, killing three people in the car.

Troopers say the victims were two 60-year-olds, Robin Shellhammer and Barbara Shellhammer, of Oregon, and 33-year-old Whitney Meinke, of Curtice.

A week ago, three men were killed nearby in Jerusalem Township when the driver ran through a stop sign, went off the road and hit a tree. Troopers say alcohol was a factor in that crash, too.

Ohio festival organizer to review new village regulations

WAYNESVILLE, Ohio (AP) — Organizers of an annual sauerkraut festival are reviewing new regulations established to replace its former contract with the southwestern Ohio village where the festival is held.

Waynesville’s village council canceled its contract with the area chamber of commerce that organizes the Ohio Sauerkraut Festival after the 2016 event. The Dayton Daily News reports the cancellation followed a dispute over changes the council said were needed to protect the village from liability and reduce or eliminate expenses.

The 2017 festival chairman says the chamber is accepting vendor applications for this year but will have a lawyer review the council’s new regulations before deciding what to do next.

The festival featuring arts, crafts, entertainment and lots of pickled cabbage has been a popular attraction for nearly 50 years.

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