Report: Alcohol ‘major role’ in fatal crash involving school bus

A 21-year-old that was killed when her car crashed head-on into a school bus in January had a blood alcohol level over three times the legal limit in Ohio, according to the Miami County Sheriff’s Office.

• Taylor Dickey, 21, drove left of center, was ejected in the collision
• Dickey's blood alcohol level was .293; legal limit is .08
• Nine children were treated for minor injuries
• Beer cans were recovered from around and in Dickey's vehicle

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UPDATE @1:30 a.m. (March 17):

The Miami County Sheriff’s Office has released new information into the fatal head-on crash involving a Milton Union school bus on Jan. 28.

Taylor Dickey, 21, had a blood alcohol level of .293 at the time of the crash, over three times the legal limit in Ohio of .08, according to Miami County Sheriff Chief Deputy David Duchak, adding that alcohol played a “major role” in Dickey’s erratic driving. Beer cans were found at the scene.

Dickey did not brake and was accelerating immediately prior to crossing over the center lane and crashing head-on into the bus at Ohio 55 and Kessler-Frederick Road, he said.

Her cause of death has been ruled as multiple blunt force trauma. The car was torn into pieces and caught fire. Dickey was ejected.

Her cell phone was not in use immediately prior to or at the time of the crash, Duchak said.

A report lists two anti-depressants in Dickey’s system at the time of the crash, but no illegal drugs were detected.

Nine students on the bus suffered minor injuries in the collision.

UPDATE @ 1:05 p.m. (Feb. 3):

The mother of Taylor Dickey, the 21-year-old Troy woman killed in a fatal crash with a Milton Union school bus last week, said her daughter was “a lovely human being” and the family is still coping with their loss.

“I don’t know what went on in the car that night. My daughter also wasn’t in the habit of speeding…she was dependable,” said Angela Soder, Dickey’s mother who now lives in Michigan.

“It shocked all of us. We were all in denial about it,” Soder said.

Soder said she hopes the investigation reveals what was occurring within the vehicle before Dickey’s death, but asked the public to wait until all of the information is released to judge her daughter.

“I just don’t want anything said until ultimately everything is known,” Soder said.

Soder added that her daughter would never intentionally hurt anyone.

According to Dickey’s mother, the 21-year-old had spoken with her the night before and had plans to visit her mother this past weekend.

Soder said her daughter had also been looking at renting an apartment in the days prior to the crash.

“She was getting her life together,” the mother said.

UPDATE @ 8:35 a.m. (Feb. 3):

We have received the police report from the fatal bus crash, and we are currently going through the report. Alcohol is suspected in the crash, according to the report.

According to a witness statement from Steven Moore of Piqua, Moore — who was on his way to work at Milton-Union Middle School — passed Dickey in the passing lane near the stoplight at Ohio 55 and Speedway. As he was accelerating to 55 miles per hour, Dickey passed Moore, “almost like I was not moving,” he said in the report.

“Once it passed me, the car slowed down very quickly and then sped back up,” Moore’s witness statement says. “This happened a couple times giving me the impression that they were having car troubles or were learning how to use a manual transmission for the first time.”

By the time Moore passed Greenlee Road, Dickey’s car sped away and he lost view of the tail lights as they went over a hill. When Moore came over the hill, he saw the bus headlights immediately disappear, heard a loud explosion and saw a fire erupt near the Stillwater River bridge.

UPDATE @ 10:23 a.m. (Feb. 2):

Miami County Chief Deputy Dave Duchak said this morning that Dickey’s car was traveling 101 miles per hour and accelerating when it hit the bus, according to the onboard computer in the car.

Dickey was not wearing a seat belt. There were no braking or skid marks, Duchak said.

Dickey’s cell phone, which was recovered at the scene, was last used 90 minutes before the crash. Dickey — who got off work at 11 p.m. the night before — was last seen at 5:30 a.m. by a friend.

Officials believe Dickey was headed to the home of a friend in Darke County at the time of the crash.

UPDATE @ 10:39 a.m. (Jan. 30): A memorial service is set for 21-year-old Taylor Dickey, who died in a crash Thursday morning with a Milton-Union school bus.

Friends and family are invited to remember the 2012 Troy High School graduate from 2 to 5 p.m. Feb. 7 at the Kreitzer Funeral Home Arcanum.

According to her obituary, Dickey’s family suggests memorial contributions can be made to the donors’ choice in memory of her.

UPDATE @ 11:38 a.m. (Jan. 29): Deputies recovered several beer cans from the vehicle Dickey was driving when she collided with a school bus Thursday morning.

“Deputies have recovered at the scene empty beer cans that were in both the passenger compartment and the outside area of the vehicle that they suspect came from the vehicle,” said Miami County Chief Deputy Dave Duchak. “We don’t know when those beers (were consumed)… but as we’ve said from the beginning we are looking at whether impairment was involved.”

Miami County Coroner Dr. William Ginn said it could be six to eight weeks before full autopsy results will be available, and those results would reveal if Dickey had any alcohol or drugs in her system. The autopsy results also would reveal if Dickey had any medical issues that may have contributed to the crash.

“Speed and left of center is what caused the crash. Why that occurred, we don’t know yet,” Duchak said.

Duchak also said investigators did not see any indication of braking by Dickey prior to the head-on collision with a Milton-Union school bus.

“There was no evasive action taken … there were no skid marks located or anything,” Duchak said.

The speed of Dickey’s vehicle is still being determined, but Duchak said the bus was traveling at approximately 45 mph.

“We do have at least one witness who said she was driving erratically on the outskirts of Troy, so we’re exploring that,” Duchak told this news outlet. He also said a cell phone was recovered at the scene.

UPDATE @ 10:30 a.m. (Jan. 29):

Miami County Coroner Dr. William Ginn said a preliminary autopsy revealed that Dickey died from multiple trauma.

UPDATE @ 8:38 a.m. (Jan. 29):

Milton-Union school officials said some of the nine students involved in the bus crash returned to school this morning.

The district will have a minister and additional counselors on hand to talk to any students who need assistance, said Superintendent Virginia Rammel.

According to Rammel, the bus involved in the crash did have a surveillance camera monitoring students on the bus, but the severe impact of the crash immediately stopped the camera and no footage was able to be recovered.

Bus driver Dee Kauffman returned to work this morning, but as a passenger with another driver because of the crash.

Miami County Sheriff’s investigators said they are still investigating and have not determined Dickey’s speed prior to the crash. Deputies also are still working to determine where she was headed.

Eight of the students were treated at Upper Valley Medical Center. One was treated at Dayton Children’s Hospital.

EARLIER REPORT

A fatal crash Thursday morning in Union Twp., Miami County, that involved a Milton-Union school bus and a car remains under investigation.

Taylor Dickey, 21, of Troy and the driver of the car, died at the scene, while nine students on the bus suffered minor injuries in the collision just before 7 a.m. at Ohio 55 and Kessler-Frederick Road. The car was torn into pieces and caught fire. Dickey was ejected.

The bus was eastbound on Ohio 55 when the car, traveling west at high speed, went left of center, said Dave Duchak, Miami County sheriff’s chief deputy.

Speed has not been calculated yet, and officials do not know where Dickey was heading to or coming from. The car was registered to her mother in Michigan.

Milton-Union school officials said there were a mix of middle school and high school students on the bus. It was the first route of the day for the bus.

Milton-Union Superintendent Virginia Rammel identified the driver as Dee Kauffman, noting that this is her first year driving for the district, but she is an experienced driver. Rammel praised Kauffman for her actions, saying there was nothing she could do to avoid impact and she handled the students well.

Rammel said several school staff members were first on the scene. She said they grabbed a fire extinguisher from the school bus to put out the car fire.

“They’re really superheroes,” Rammel said. “We have the best staff, the best community and everybody pulls together, and that’s exactly what happened here.”

Rammel said the staff members had gotten the children off the school bus and a safe distance from the wreckage.

“Our bus was in a terrific accident and of course the first thing you worry about is the bus driver and our kids,” Rammel said. “Go home and hug your loved ones.”

Four students were taken by EMS to Upper Valley Medical Center and four students were walk-ins, according to Heidi Harmer, an emergency department nurse manager. One student was taken to Dayton Children’s Hospital. All injuries were minor.

Harmer said the Upper Valley did not need to call in additional help. Some night-shift crews did stay over, she said.

Ryan Brown, a freshman at Milton-Union, was on the bus .

“It was scary,” Brown said. “I heard a loud bang and then I was trying to figure out what was going on; looking around and figuring out what actually happened.”

Ryan’s mother, Jill, said the school handled the aftermath of the crash well.

“I think the kids did well,” Jill said. “My son was texting me, so I knew what was going on at all times. It was very scary.”

Several 911 calls were received by the Miami County Dispatch Center shortly after the crash was reported.

“We have a bus accident at the corner of State Route 55 and Kessler-Frederick,” said Mike Woods, one of three callers who reported the crash. “Oh my God, the car is absolutely totaled.”

Multiple callers told dispatchers that at least two children on the bus were bleeding. One caller said one child was bleeding from the head, another from the mouth.

Another student on the bus told dispatchers what he witnessed.

“We are on the bus and it got hit,” said the student, who also reported that one person on board hit their head on the glass.

“It sounded like a shotgun blast,” Woods told NewsCenter 7. “I saw the bus, and I thought the wheels locked on up it or something. Then I saw all the debris and realized that it was a pretty bad wreck.”

Ohio 55 was closed nearly five hours.