Two women suffered serious injuries in a head-on collision on State Route 5 in Charlestown Township Aug. 8.
Trooper Louis Libessart, of the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Ravenna Post, said a 2025 Jeep Compass was eastbound behind a 2016 Toyota Tundra at about 8:40 p.m. when the Jeep’s driver, an 84-year-old Ravenna woman, went left of center to pass the Tundra and collided with a westbound 2004 Honda Accord.
“Apparently she just misjudged the distance” of oncoming traffic and the distance she would have to travel to get around the Tundra and a trailer the pickup truck was pulling, said Libessart.
The Ravenna woman and the Honda driver, an Alliance woman, 46, were trapped in their vehicles. Once released, they were taken by ambulance to University Hospitals Portage Medical Center with serious injuries.
Libessart said the Ravenna woman was cited with improper passing, but later was found to be more seriously injured than initially believed and was flown by helicopter to Summa Akron City Hospital with suspected life-threatening injuries.
Libessart did not have any additional information.
The Alliance woman’s injuries are believed to be non-life threatening, said Libessart. He added that in a “plot twist,” she was charged with first-degree misdemeanor operating a vehicle under the influence.
“She should not have been driving anyway,” he said, adding that alcohol and marijuana were found in her vehicle.
The trailer the Tundra was pulling was struck by either debris or one of the other vehicles, but damage was minimal and no injuries were reported to the driver, a Newton Falls woman, 50, said Libessart.
Reporter Jeff Saunders can be reached at jsaunders@recordpub.com.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Two women seriously injured in head-on crash on State Route 5 in Portage County Aug. 8
Reporting by Jeff Saunders, Ravenna Record-Courier / Record-Courier
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