Alcohol suspected in fatal crash
Speed also a possible factor in Wilberforce wreck, report says.
Speed is also thought to be a factor in the crash that killed a Wilberforce student and critically injured three other college students.
Alcohol and speed were suspected factors in the crash that killed a Wilberforce University student and critically injured three other college students in September, according to the crash report on file with the Ohio Department of Public Safety.
The Sept. 26 crash happened on North Bickett Road just south of the U.S. 42 intersection in Wilberforce.
Alexandria Austin, a 21-yearold WU sophomore, was a passenger in the single-vehicle crash. She was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after the car went off the road and struck a tree around 2:30 in the morning.
The investigation by the Ohio State Highway Patrol Xenia Post indicates that the driver, 21-yearold Ariel Woodard, a Wilberforce student, was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash and was given a blood-alcohol test, according to the updated crash report.
Woodard’s blood-alcohol level was .122, according to the crash report. The legal limit in Ohio is .08.
The 2016 Toyota Corolla Woodard was driving was traveling at an “unsafe speed” for that section of roadway, according to the updated crash report. No charges have been filed. Greene County Prosecutor Stephen K. Haller said his office has not been presented the case yet, but he expects to review the investigation for possible criminal charges.
“The patrol will wait to have everything finished then bring it to us for review, and at that time we’ll take a look at it,” he said.
Woodard and passenger Alana Wedderburn, a 23-year-old Wilberforce student, were taken to Miami Valley Hospital via Care-
Flight. A third passenger, 18-year-old Shala Sylvester, a Central State University student, was also transported to Miami Valley Hospital. All three were in critical condition in the days after the crash.
Wedderburn and Sylvester remain as patients at Miami Valley Hospital where they are listed in serious condition on Thursday.
Woodard is being treated at a hospital in Michigan, where she is in critical condition, according to Ohio Highway Patrol Lt. Matt Schmenk, Xenia post commander.
The Corolla that Woodard was driving is registered to Alana Wedderburn, whose hometown is listed as Yonkers, New York, according to the report.
This news organization has been unable to speak with relatives of the women involved in the crash.