Further Details on Grace Student’s Death
Posted by Terry White on September 24, 2006
From today’s Wapakoneta (OH) Daily News:
Teen dies in U.S. 33 collision
By MIKE BURKHOLDER
Assistant Managing Editor
A Virginia teen died Friday from injuries suffered in a two-vehicle collision Friday morning on U.S. 33 east of St. Johns.
Joseph P. Ross, 19, of Locust Grove, Va., was pronounced dead at the scene by Auglaize County Coroner Dr. Thomas Freytag following a traffic accident at 9:41 a.m. Friday. Ross, who was driving a 1992 Volkswagen Golf eastbound on U.S. 33, went left of the center line and crossed into the path of a westbound semi-trailer driven by Thomas R. Snider, 40, of Covington, Ohio.
At the time of the collision, the semi-trailer Snider was driving had nine new Honda vehicles on it, according to the report with the Wapakoneta Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
Ross’s vehicle collided with the semi-trailer approximately one mile east of St. Johns, coming to a rest in a ditch. Ross was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the collision.
“It probably wouldn’t have matter if he was wearing a seat belt,” OSHP Sgt. Rick Albers said. “The impact of the semi-trailer on the vehicle wouldn’t have matter.”
According to the trooper’s report, Ross was partially ejected from his vehicle and had to be extricated from it by mechanical means. The report indicated Snider was wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident.
Ross’s body was taken to Armentrout Funeral Home in Waynesfield following the collision. Snider was transported by St. Johns Rescue Squad to Lima Memorial Hospital for non-life threatening injuries.
A spokesperson from Lima Memorial Hospital said Snider was not admitted as a patient, but he could have been treated and released.
Albers said the collision remains under investigation and that alcohol or drugs are unlikely to have played a role in the incident. Albers could not confirm whether Ross was talking on a cell phone at the time of the collision.
“We are still investigating why he possibly went left of center,” Albers said. “Nothing (drugs or alcohol) is suspected as of right now.”
The collision was the fifth fatal accident, resulting in sixth person killed on Auglaize County roadways so far this year.
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