The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
2 men die in separate crashes
The Ohio Highway Patrol is investigating separate crashes that claimed the lives of two men on March 19.
The OHP’s Norwalk Post has reported a 74-year-old Huron man died in a fatal single-vehicle crash in Hartland Township in Huron County, according to news release.
Alfred H. Gruber Jr. succumbed to injuries he suffered after his 1999 Jeep went off the left side of the road, striking a ditch and a tree, the release said.
Gruber swerved his vehicle to avoid striking a deer crossing the road and suffered incapacitating injuries, according to the release.
He was flown by medical helicopter to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, where he was later pronounced dead, the release said.
Alcohol and speed are not factors in the crash. Investigators said Gruber was not wearing his seat belt, according to the release.
The OHP was assisted on scene by the Huron County Sheriff’s Office, Townsend Township Fire Department, Citizens EMS and White’s Towing, the release said.
• The Sandusky Post of the OHP is investigating a one-vehicle fatal crash in Milan Township in Erie County, according to a news release.
At 11:51 a.m. troopers responded to U.S. Route 250 (milepost 8) just south of Scheid Road where a 56-year-old Sandusky man identified as Steven W. Yontz, who was driving a Chevrolet Trailblazer SUV. He struck a utility pole and was pronounced dead at the scene by North Central EMS, the release said.
The victim was driving northbound on Route 250 when the vehicle drove leftof-center and crossed over the southbound lanes. He then drove off the left side of the roadway through a small ditch and striking the right-of-way fence before striking a utility pole.
The crash remains under investigation and alcohol is believed to have been a factor, the release said.
Assisting the OHP on scene were the Erie County Sheriff’s Office, Milan Township Fire Department, Ohio Edison, Erie County Coroner’s Office, Toft Funeral Home and Crematory and Perkin’s Towing.