The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office says it may have misidentified the wrong-way vehicle in an April 23 crash that killed two people.
The sheriff’s office initially said a red Chevrolet Cruze was northbound in the southbound lanes of Interstate 270 early in the morning on April 23 and collided head-on with a black Audi A3 that was traveling the correct direction in the southbound lanes.
The crash happened at 12:47 a.m. that morning. Both drivers were transported to Mount Carmel East Hospital in critical condition. The Chevrolet’s driver, Aobyda Nadeem, 24, of Columbus, was pronounced dead at 1:32 a.m. The driver of the Audi, 28-year-old Jacob Fisher of Lexington, Kentucky, died at the hospital the following night, according to a crash report.
In an updated news release, the sheriff’s office said video provided by the Ohio Department of Transportation shows a black vehicle entering I-270 traveling the wrong way. The sheriff’s office has not located any footage of the crash itself.
Accident investigators will download information from the vehicles that may show vehicle movement and direction of travel at the time of the crash, but the data may not provide definitive answers, according to the news release.
The sheriff’s office said the initial release stating the red Chevrolet appeared to be driving the wrong way “was based on preliminary information.” The sheriff’s office had not reviewed any footage showing a vehicle traveling the wrong way at the time the release was sent to media.
“No determination of fault was made in the earlier release, and we still have no determination of fault,” the sheriff’s office wrote in the updated release.
This story has been updated with additional information.
Public Safety and Breaking News Reporter Bailey Gallion can be reached at bagallion@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Sheriff’s office now says wrong-way vehicle unclear in fatal I-270 crash
Reporting by Bailey Gallion, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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