BUTLER COUNTY — A “reckless driver” died after running a red light and hitting multiple vehicles in Butler County over the weekend, according to Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones.
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The Butler County Coroner’s Office identified the driver as Joshua R. Back, 34, of Hamilton.
Back’s death was ruled an accident.
As previously reported, sheriff’s deputies responded to reports of a reckless driver operating a Mazda6 vehicle westbound on State Route 129 around 5:20 p.m. on Saturday.
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Back exited onto State Route 747 and sideswiped a silver SUV before continuing northbound on the roadway.
He then made a U-turn and proceeded southbound on SR 747.
As the Mazda approached the SR-129 bridge, Back ran a red light and struck a Ford F-150 head-on.
The Mazda then hit a guardrail and came to rest on the bridge.
Back was taken to UC West Chester Hospital, where he died from multiple traumatic injuries, according to the coroner’s office.
The driver and the passenger of the Ford F-150 were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
The occupants of the SUV that was sideswiped were not injured.
The crash remains under investigation by the Butler County Sheriff’s Office Serious Traffic Accident Reconstruction Team (S.T.A.R.T.).
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