Conneaut, OH : 79-year-old man dead, 5 inmates injured after four-vehicle wreck on Route 7 in Ashtabula County on Wednesday, April 15, 2015

A 79-year-old Monroe Township man died and eight people — including five Lake Erie Correctional Institution inmates were injured after two crashes occured just minutes apart late Wednesday morning at Route 7 and Welton Road in Conneaut.

Vernon Dell, of Hatches Corner Road, might have taken ill moments before his pickup truck struck the rear of a Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office van carrying two deputies and the LaECI inmates, officials said. The sheriff’s van had stopped to assist an accident that occured shortly beforehand.

Dell was taken to UH Conneaut Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 12:14 p.m., said Tom Despenes, Ashtabula County coroner’s investigator. The cause of death is still being investigated — it is unclear if Dell died from injuries sustained in the crash or an underlying medical condition.

Dell, the inmates and a Cuyahoga County deputy inside the transport van were taken to CMC aboard ambulances sent to the scene from neighboring fire departments and agencies, said Conneaut Assistant Fire Chief Steve Sanford.

The inmates and the deputy suffered minor injuries, Sanford said.
“I don’t believe the injuries were serious, but they took quite a hit,” he said.

Conneaut Police Chief Charles Burlingham, in a release, said the names of those involved would not be released until family members had been notified.
The first crash was reported at 11:39 a.m., Sanford said. A cargo van facing west on Welton Road reportedly pulled into the path of a Wayne Dalton semi-truck traveling south on Route 7, he said. The truck struck the van on the passenger side at the rear, spinning it into the southwest corner of the intersection.

A sheriff’s van, carrying the shackled inmates and two deputies, was traveling south on Route 7 behind the semi-truck. After the initial crash, the van stopped and a deputy exited to check the scene and offer assistance, Sanford said. Seconds later, the transport van was struck from behind by Dell’s pickup truck, the impact shoving the transport van into the rear of the tractor-trailer truck. Airbags deployed in the transport van.

Source :
Cuyahoga Co. van crashes; deputies, inmates on board