Ohio Turnpike pileup leaves 3 dead, officer pinned

Three people were killed when a storm caused a pileup of more than 80 cars and trucks on the Ohio turnpike Wednesday.

The first crash, snarling 16 cars at milepost 102, occurred shortly after 1 p.m. Wednesday on the eastbound lanes of the Turnpike in Sandusky County.

Highway patrol officials identified 20-year-old Hannah Matheny, of Parma, Ohio, a passenger in a Ford Focus, and commercial vehicle driver Grzegorz A. Piwowarczyk, 42, of Palatine, Ill., as the victims of the initial crash.

A second crash zone at milepost 101 killed Janice Robb, 66, of Schererville, Ind., a passenger in a Chevy Venture. There were 20 vehicles in the second crash zone, and another 50 stuck between them.

Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper Andrew Clouser, 29, was dispatched to the initial crash scheme at 1:25 p.m., and became pinned between two vehicles around 2 p.m. He was taken to Firelands Hospital in Sandusky with severe injuries and was later transferred to Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center, where he remains in intensive care.

Other collisions on the westbound side of the highway closed traffic in both directions for hours, with the left and center eastbound lanes reopening at 10 a.m. Thursday.

[Toledo Blade]