Leipsic man dies in crash into riverbank

MONROE TOWNSHIP - A 28-year-old Leipsic man died Thursday morning when his pickup truck went off the roadway and hit a guardrail before striking a nearby riverbank.

Justin R. Flores, 28, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, in northern Allen County, by Allen County Coroner Dr. Gary R. Beasley, troopers from the Lima post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol reported.

Trooper Bill Bowers said Flores was driving north on state Route 65 in Monroe Township, shortly before 8:50 a.m., when his 2001 Ford F-150 truck went off the right side of the road where it struck the guardrail and riverbank before coming to rest.

Flores was partially ejected and he was not wearing his seat belt, Bowers said.

Troopers were not sure why he went off the road

"You can see where he just drifted off the road," Bowers said. "It wasn't abrupt or evasive. We're not sure why."

The vehicle sustained heavy damage and was towed from the scene by Blake's Towing, troopers reported. Columbus Grove emergency medical workers took Flores to St. Rita's Medical Center in Lima.

It was Allen County's fourth fatality this year, Bowers said.