WAPAKONETA — Officers in Auglaize County are reminding the public to stay alert on the road.
The plea comes on the heels of a crash in a construction zone that injured a deputy and another person.
Sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Ahlers was sitting in his sheriff’s cruiser at 8:41 a.m. Sept. 7 on Interstate 75 near the U.S. 33 exchange stopped when a semi truck plowed into the van behind him. The van was propelled into the sheriff’s cruiser, said Auglaize County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Mike Eberle.
“It caused heavy damage to both vehicles,” Eberle said.
Ahlers was not seriously injured but was off work for three days and sore from his injuries, Eberle said.
The driver of the van, Roger Hager of Wapakoneta, also suffered non-life threatening injuries, Eberle said.
The driver of the semi truck, James McLeod, 38, of Michigan, was cited for assured clear distance, a misdemeanor.
Eberle said the sheriff’s cruiser, which was new this year, was a total loss. A new cruiser cost nearly $35,000, he said. Eberle didn’t have a damage estimate on the van but it could easily be a high dollar amount.
While McLeod received a traffic ticket and there is a huge financial loss insurance will have to cover on the damages to two vehicles, Eberle said it was fortunate no one died.
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