Teen survives 2 crashes in one day

FORT RECOVERY — A 17-year-old girl survived two separate crashes Thursday including one with a semi-truck that nearly killed her.Janelle J. Schwieterman, of Fort Recovery, was in critical condition Friday at St. Rita’s Medical Center in Lima earlier in the day but later was transferred to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton. Her condition was unavailable Friday night. The crash that injured her happened on Fox Road, not far from her home. She was driving west when she stopped at the intersection of state Route 49 then started through the intersection when she collided with a semi-truck, the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office reported.“It was probably one of those things. I don’t think she saw the semi,” Mercer County Sheriff Jeff Grey said.The driver of the semi, Jason E. Miller, 40, of DeGraff, was taken to the hospital for an exam and released, Grey said.Miller called in the crash at 3:52 p.m. Less than 20 minutes later — at 4:08 p.m. — the sheriff’s office received a call reporting a car had hit a pole on Sharpsburg Road, but the driver had left the scene, officials said.Both cars involved in the semi crash and the pole crash were registered to Michael Schwieterman, Janelle’s father. Deputies were initially confused but pieced the situation together. First, the girl hit the pole and called her sister to come pick her up. “She had left a note in the first car saying that nobody is hurt, I went to get my dad,” Grey said.The girls rode home together, and Janelle dropped her sister there and continued on to look for her dad. He was in the field, farming, Grey said. It was when she was on her way to find her father that she pulled out in front of the semi. Both crashes happened within five miles of her home.No citations have been issued, and the crash remains under investigation. There is no suspicion of alcohol and each crash appears to be accidental, Grey said.You can comment on this story at www.limaohio.com.