Driver: ‘I did. I definitely did’ think rear-end crash on I-75 in Piqua was a fatal one

PIQUA — Drivers stuck in traffic after a sedan rear-ended a semitrailer Friday afternoon on northbound I-75 in Piqua on Friday afternoon thought the driver of the car had been killed.

“I did, I definitely did” think she didn’t make it, said one driver, Joe Burnett.

>> RELATED: West Carrollton woman seriously injured after read-ending semi on I-75 in Piqua

About two hours later, rescue workers freed Jessica Stover, 36, of West Carrollton, from the mangled remains of her blue Chevy sedan.

She had suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to Miami Valley Hospital by Care Flight.

According to the preliminary investigation, the semitrailer was moving at a slow speed when Stover’s car slammed into it from behind.

“We saw the chopper come in, we knew it was bad,” another driver, Wes Harmon, told News Center 7.

Sgt. Brent Johnson, Piqua Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, said the fact that firefighter rescuers said Stover was talking was very surprising, considering the damage to her car.

“She was talking throughout the incident, so it looks like she was going to be OK,” he said.

Lonnie Saunders, of Saunders Towing & Recovery, said, ”Yeah, it’s pretty amazing.”

The driver of the semi was not injured.

The state patrol said the crash, which shut down the northbound lanes of the interstate for several hours, remains under investigation.

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