ROUNDHEAD — Early Tuesday, 23-year-old Kyle E. Miller, of Lancaster, was northbound on state Route 117 when he drove left of center and collided head-on with a southbound tractor-trailer.
Miller was flown by medical helicopter to St. Rita’s Medical Center, where he was in critical condition late Tuesday afternoon. The driver of the tractor-trailer, William A. Siders, 55, of Columbus, escaped with minor injuries, Lt. M.R. Crow of the Findlay post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol reported.
The 5:50 a.m. crash on state Route 117 about three miles north of Roundhead remained under under investigation Tuesday. Alcohol did not appear to have played a role, but Miller was not wearing his seat belt, the patrol reported.
Tuesday’s accident marked the latest serious crash on state Route 117. Already, three people have died this year on the 30-mile stretch of highway from Lima to the Indian Lake area.
On Friday, a 19-year-old Lakeview man was killed. In March, two people from Columbus died one day apart in separate crashes.
State Patrol commanders from the four highway patrol posts in charge of the highway have requested that their Columbus headquarters analyze all the crashes on state Route 117 this year.
“Once we have that data back that says when people are crashing, where they are crashing, and what most likely is causing them to crash, we will look at ways to prevent that,” said Lt. David Brown, commander of the Lima post, which handles one of the longest stretches of the highway.
A special enforcement blitz was put together in March after the two fatal crashes.
Speeding, illegal passing, and failure-to-yield violations were the key concerns, said Sgt. John Westerfield of the Wapakoneta post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, which handled one of the fatal crashes.
“We had people out there working, showing them we were there to be visible,” Westerfield said.
Friday’s fatal crash has prompted the state patrol to schedule another enforcement later this week.
Westerfield has patrolled the two-lane highway for the past 19 years. He said it’s always been a troubled roadway with its curves, hills and small towns that have lower speed limits than the maximum speed limit of 55 mph.
“Normally, when we have crashes out there, they are pretty bad,” he said. “The terrain itself makes it a little dangerous. If you take your eyes off the road, you may be off the road.”
Speeding and impatient drivers, especially those behind a string of cars who make bad decisions trying to pass, have contributed to a lot of crashes through the years, he said.
“It’s not a very good place to pass. There are very few straightaways,” Westerfield said.
State Route 117 is considered a shortcut between Lima and Indian Lake. Many people using it are going between Lima and the lake for recreation and work. It is also busy with truckers going to and from U.S. Route 33.
“There’s a lot of traffic,” Westerfield said. “Some days we go out there and it’s like a racetrack,” he said.
The two primary factors Westerfield sees that lead to serious and fatal crashes is speed and driving left of center, he said.
Westerfield said troopers want people to safely arrive at their destination. But even if people don’t see a trooper they should always be safe and defensive drivers. That means not speeding and adjusting speed for obstacles such as slow traffic. And, no matter what, everyone in a car should wear a seat belt, which could save their lives, he said.
Westerfield also tells people to stay off their phones while driving and to not text while driving.
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