Three people were killed and three others injured in a nine-vehicle crash that shut down both sides of Interstate 71 in Delaware County on April 11 for several hours.
The crash occurred at 6:27 p.m. on the northbound lanes I-71 near the U.S. 36 and state Route 37 interchange, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
The patrol stated that a 2006 Freightliner semi was traveling northbound and failed to stop while approaching a traffic backup in a construction zone. Modou F. Ngom, 50, of Columbus, was driving the tractor-trailer.
As a result of the crash, a 37-year-old male, 36-year-old female and one-year-old child were killed in a 2016 Chevrolet Silverado. All three were from Ashley, Ohio. The Patrol did not release the names of the victims or if they were related.
Three other people were transported from the scene to hospitals for serious non-life threatening injuries, according to the patrol.
A witness told Dispatch news partner NBC4-WCMHTV that she had seen the semi truck in the northbound lane of I-71, “running into vehicles and coming towards the median,” before flames shot into the air.
Ngom was taken into custody and is being held at the Delaware County Jail on charges of vehicular homicide, according to the patrol.
The area of the collision is under construction for the Sunbury Parkway interchange project. The Ohio Department of Transportation said an investigation will determine whether the construction played a role in the crash.
Contact features and entertainment reporter Belinda M. Paschal at bpaschal@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Massive I-71 crash in Delaware County kills three, driver in custody
Reporting by Belinda M. Paschal, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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