Alexandria, OH : Three teens killed and two injured in central Ohio crash Thursday afternoon on June 26, 2014

Three Johnstown teens were killed and two injured in a one-car, high-speed crash Thursday on Hardscrabble Road.

Michael Hoskinson, 17, Cheyenne Spurgeon, 15, and Linzie Bell, 15, were pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Ohio Highway Patrol.

The driver, 16-year-old Jaylynn Rigio, was flown to Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, where his condition is unknown.

The front-seat passenger, Ashton Cody, 16, was taken to Grant Medical Center in Columbus, where he was in stable condition Thursday afternoon, according to an OHP dispatcher.

The crash was reported at 12:32 p.m. in the 5000 block of Hardscrabble Road, near Alexandria. The five teenagers were in a silver Mitsubishi sedan heading east when the car swerved off the right side of the road, according to Patrol Sgt. Russell Pasqualetti.

Rigio overcorrected and crossed the center line, nearly went off the left side of the road, then overcorrected again, Pasqualetti said.

“That created a rotation, and the car started spinning clockwise,” he said.

The car then spun off the right side of the road, flipped sideways, and the top half smashed into a tree, splitting the car in two.

Police say multiple passengers were partially ejected from the vehicle, and none of the occupants was wearing a seatbelt.

The investigation is ongoing, but “just from looking at it, from the length of the skid marks and the damage to the vehicle, they were certainly going over the speed limit on this road,” Pasqualetti said. “Certainly traveling in excess of any safe speed on this road.”

According to Ohio law, drivers younger than 17 are only allowed to drive with one non-family member in the car, unless a parent or guardian is also in the vehicle. Studies have shown that one passenger doubles the risk of a crash among teen drivers, two passengers triple the risk, and three or more passengers increase the risk by more than six fold, according to the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

Thursday’s three deaths bring the countywide fatal crash total to 12 for this year, two more than at this time last year, according to OHP data.

In 911 recordings, callers emphasized how torn up the car was after it hit the tree.

“A car just went down the road, flipped, and it looks like it’s in pieces,” said a woman who told the dispatcher she could see the crash scene from her porch.

“I can see someone moving, walking around the car, but it’s in pieces,” she said. “... He’s walking down the road, holding his head.”

OHP Sgt. Jeff Dallas said Hardscrabble Road is not documented as a road with frequent speed violations, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t occur.

“It’s just a quiet road without much traffic,” Dallas said.

Crews from Granville, St. Albans and Monroe townships responded to the crash.

Source :
Patrol: 3 teens dead in central Ohio car crash