KETTERING — UPDATE @ 8:40 p.m. (Nov. 3)
A Fairmont High School grad was killed in a crash Wednesday on Woodman Drive, right in front of the place he spent the most time.
Joe Roudebush, 18, of Kettering, worked at Poelking Woodman Lanes, where the general manager said he was hard-working and a good person who will be dearly missed.
“He was just always very respectful to everybody, always talking to everybody and saying he, always cheerful,” Denise Morgan said.
Before Roudebush got a job at the bowling alley, he was there as a member of his high school varsity bowling team.
“The Firebird community is very sad having learned of Joe’s passing yesterday in a car accident,” Fairmont athletic director Chris Weaver said in a statement. “Joe, a 2016 grad, was part of the west unit in Fairmont High School. Joe loved the Browns and especially enjoyed being a part of the Fairmont bowling team. His love for the sport of bowling was infectious. His friends, coaches and teammates mourn his passing and will keep his family in our thoughts as they grieve his loss.”
Roudebush was killed after his car veered left of center, colliding with an oncoming vehicle. He was ejected, said John Jung of the Kettering Police Department. The driver of a red car, identified as Steve Southwood, also of Kettering, was injured but has since been released from a local hospital.
Morgan saw the wreckage, but had no idea it was Roudebush at first.
A nurse and operations manager at Orthopaedic Institute of Dayton on Woodman Drive ran to the scene to assist, but said Kettering police and medics were able to quickly respond.
“We went over and helped the gentleman in the red car, held his door open trying to talk to him, calm him,” said Elizabeth Bender, the manager. “He obviously was alive, pretty badly hurt,” Bender said.
Mary Ann Noonan, a nurse who accompanied Bender, said that she tried to comfort both drivers, especially Roudebush, as best as possible as onlookers held hands in prayer for the drivers.
“If it gives the family any solace to know that somebody was there and that I think we could assure this man did not suffer,” Noonan said. “There was somebody with him from the moment it happened.”
The crash remains under investigation, Jung said.
UPDATE @ 8 p.m.
A driver who was ejected in a head-on crash this afternoon has succumbed to his injuries.
He was identified as 18-year-old Joseph Roudebush of Kettering, according to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office. He is a 2016 graduate of Fairmont High School.
We’re working to learn the name and condition of the other driver involved.
UPDATE @ 2:10 p.m.
Two drivers were taken to the hospital, one with serious injuries, after a head-on crash in the 3200 block Woodman Drive.
The driver of the black car was ejected in the collision and suffered serious injuries, according to Kettering Police Spokesman John Jung.
Jung said the black vehicle was northbound and it appears to have traveled left-of-center and struck a southbound red vehicle. The driver of the red vehicle was conscious and alert as he was loaded in the life squad.
Woodman Drive is expected to be shut down from East Dorothy Lane to Danube Court through the afternoon to accommodate the investigation.
UPDATE @ 2 p.m.
Police in Kettering are investigating a serious crash that has Woodman Drive shut down in the 3200 block of by the Woodman Lanes bowling alley.
At least one person was taken to the hospital with potentially life-threatening injuries.
We’re working to find out more about what happened.
FIRST REPORT
We are getting reports of a serious two-car accident in the 3200 block of Woodman Drive, in front of the Woodman Lanes bowling alley in Kettering. There may be multiple injuries, according to police scanner.
The 3100 block of Woodman Drive is shut down in both directions, from Danube and Dorsey courts. The lanes will be shut down for an extended period of time, police said.
Our photographer is on the scene, and we will bring your the latest information as it becomes available.
