UPDATE @1:52 p.m., Aug. 18, 2015: A man who died in a single-vehicle crash in Shelby County Monday is suspected of being involved in a hit-skip crash earlier in the day in Piqua, authorities said today.
Police were looking for Charles W. Lawrence following the crash, authorities said. He was driving under a suspended license.
Speed contributed to the crash, authorities said.
UPDATE @ 9:35 p.m. Aug. 17, 2015: Charles W. Lawrence, 55, of Sidney, is the fatality in the single-vehicle accident on Patterson-Halpin Road in Washington Twp., according to the Shelby County Sheriff's Office.
He was driving a Dodge Stratus that left the road for unknown reason and slammed into a tree.
The Shelby County Coroner’s Office, Lockington fire and Sidney rescue assisted deputies on scene.
UPDATE @ 7:30 p.m.:
The person killed in a single-vehicle accident in the 1000 block of Patterson-Halpin Road is a male, Shelby County sheriff’s Detective Chris Brown said.
The victim is believed to be of Piqua, but his name and age have not been released, said Brown, who noted that several aspects of the incident — including determining whether speed, road conditions, alcohol, drugs or a medical condition could have been factors — remain under investigation.
Brown said deputies, in their preliminary investigation, have determined the car traveled off the left side of Patterson-Halpin Road as it headed north and struck a tree approximately 12 inches in diameter. The driver died at the scene, he said.
“He was traveling at a moderate speed,” Brown said.
A second vehicle accident that occurred at nearly the same time as the fatal accident, this one a chain-reaction incident on southbound state Route 66 at Fessler-Buxton Road, sent a mother and daughter to hospitals.
Sheriff’s Deputy David Spicer said Osgood resident Chelsey White, believed to be in her late 20s, had to be extricated from the wreckage of her Chevy Malibu. Her injuries were not believed to be serious. Her daughter, believed to be 4 or 5, was not injured but was taken to a hospital as a precaution.
Spicer said the accident occurred when a FedEx box truck rear-ended a Ford pickup truck that was stopped at the intersection, waiting to make a left turn onto Fessler-Buxton from state Route 66, once the Malibu passed. The FedEx vehicle veered into the Malibu’s path and sideswiped it, then took out guy wires to an electric pole.
That shut down the intersection and a Pioneer Electric crew was called to make repairs.
Corey Mummey, of Houston, was driving the pickup truck. He was not injured.
Eric Fitterer, of Dayton, the driver of the FedEx truck, also was not injured. He told deputies he didn’t notice the pickup truck had stopped in front of him on state Route 66, which is part of his normal route, Spicer said. Fitterer was cited for failure to maintain assured clear distance.
FIRST REPORT
Two vehicle accidents in Shelby County, one of which is reported to be a fatal, have rescue crews busy this afternoon.
We’re told the fatal accident occurred in the 1000 block of Patterson-Halpin Road, west of Sidney. We have a crew on the way to that accident.
We’re told the other accident involves as many as three vehicles, a rollover and an entrapment at state Route 66 near Fessler-Buxton Road, just west of Lockington and north of Piqua.
No word on the extent of injuries there, but we’re working to gather details on both accidents.
Both were reported sometime between 4:15 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
Stay with whio.com for breaking news.
