Driver removed from overturned truck on 117

WAYNESFIELD -- A Chillicothe man spent nearly an hour and a half trapped inside his overturned tractor-trailer Monday morning. Hours later he was released from a local hospital.

Emergency responders were called to the scene of the crash at state Route 117 and Gossard East Road in northeastern Auglaize County after 7 a.m. Monday. Sgt. Tom Brookhart, of the Wapakoneta post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, said the driver of the tractor, which was hauling auto parts, lost control of the vehicle, overcorrected and flipped the tractor-trailer onto its side.

"All I heard was the squealing of the tires and when he flipped over," said Dale Turner, who lives near the crash site. "I thought it was a school bus."

Turner and his wife, Linda, said they have seen numerous crashes in the 40 years they've been living in their home.

"You knew something had happened," Linda Turner said. "It was really loud."

The driver of the truck, Tom Green, 57, of Chillicothe, was trapped inside the overturned tractor for more than an hour before crews from Westminster and Wayne Township fire departments were able to free him. He was taken to a waiting medical helicopter and flown to St. Rita's Medical Center, where he was treated, then released.

Green was cited for failure to control.

The crash forced the closure of state Route 117 for a couple of hours between Buckland-Holden Road and Fairmount Road. The tractor-tractor lay in a field with the trailer completely blocking both lanes of the state route.