Victim ‘serious’ in heroin-suspected OVI crash

UPDATE @10:13 a.m. 11/12

Christopher Biddle is listed in serious condition this morning following yesterday’s crash, according to a Miami Valley Hospital official.

EARLIER

The Ohio State Patrol intends to pursue criminal charges against the driver of a car that continued through a stop sign on North Diamond Mill and split another car in half on impact, sending that driver to Miami Valley Hospital suffering from serious injuries.

KEY POINTS

• Troopers believe the driver of the at-fault car was under the influence of heroin
• Half the car that was destroyed hit a school bus. The other half hit a UPS delivery truck
• The bus driver, the children on the bus and the UPS driver were not injured

UPDATE @ 8:16 p.m.: The driver of the at-fault car is Kelly Hooks, 35, of Celina in Mercer County. She initially refused to answer questions, but later submitted to having a blood sample taken for evidence.

Her passenger was released and will not be charged, OSP Sgt. Frank Simmons said.

Christopher Biddle, the victim whose car was split in half, is 27 and from West Alexandria. His condition was not immediately known, but was believed to still be serious.

Simmons said OSP will be pursuing charges of aggravated vehicular assault and OVI.

UPDATE @ 5 p.m.: The driver of the car that ran through a stop sign on North Diamond Mill Road and split another car in half on impact was believed to be under the influence of heroin, Ohio Highway Patrol Sgt. Frank Simmons said.

The female driver was given a field sobriety test, he said, and that’s when troopers made their determination.

“My troopers have reason to believe she is under the influence of heroin at this time,” Simmons said. A subsequent search of the vehicle the female was driving turned up “some anti-heroin capsules.” That search did not initially locate any heroin, he said.

The female driver has been taken into custody. Her male passenger is being detained under investigative custody, Simmons said.

UPDATE @ 4:20 p.m.

The driver of a Honda Civic is in critical condition and is being transported by CareFlight to Miami Valley Hospital following a crash involving another car and a school bus on near North Diamond Mill and National roads.

The impact split the silver Civic in two.

Troopers say the driver of a Pontiac Grand Prix headed north on Diamond Mill ran a stop sign and hit the Civic, sending it in to a parked UPS truck. The Grand Prix then hit a Brookville school bus with 10 to 15 students on board. No students were injured and were put on to another bus to be taken home.

The driver of the Grand Prix was taken in to custody. It is not clear what charges the driver may face if any, or if speed, drugs or alcohol were factors in the crash.

UPDATE @ 3:55 p.m.

A Brookville local school bus was apparently involved in the crash, but it does not appear to be damaged.

Early reports indicated there were no injuries on the bus. CareFlight landed in a field nearby.

Early reports indicated one person suffered serious injuries.

There appear to be four vehicles involved, including a UPS delivery van.

The car with the most damage appears to have been cut in half. The rear part of the vehicle is up against the UPS truck and the front of the vehicle is in the front yard near a utility pole.

FIRST REPORT

A crash involving a bus has been reported at North Diamond Mill and National roads in Clay Twp.

Multiple medics and CareFlight were dispatched shortly after 3 p.m.

We have crews en route and will provide updates as more information becomes available.