HUBER HEIGHTS — Investigators have released additional information about a wrong-way crash on I-70 in Huber Heights that killed three people.
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As reported on News Center 7 at 5, Jeremy Roy, chief of staff with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, held a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.
As News Center 7 previously reported, Huber Heights police were called to the crash on I-70 eastbound near Brandt Pike around 1:13 a.m. Sunday.
The sheriff’s office found that a 55-year-old driver of a Chevy Tahoe entered I-70 at SR-201, traveling up the eastbound exit ramp.
Roy said the at-fault driver was linked to a local bar before the crash. He did not name the bar.
Investigators are still working to learn why the man was going the wrong way.
“They’re going to go back and kind of dig into the history, interview people, do social media warrants, all the things that they need to see what was the behavior was leading up to this? What was his state of mind,” Roy said.
A Honda Accord driven by a 25-year-old man was preparing to exit I-70 onto SR-201 when he encountered the Tahoe.
He attempted to avoid a crash by changing lanes, but the Tahoe also changed lanes and collided with the front of the Honda.
The Tahoe continued to travel in the wrong direction for around half a mile, where it crashed head-on with a Chevy Trax.
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The Trax instantly caught fire.
The driver of the Trax and her passenger, both 18, died on the scene.
News Center 7 spoke to the owner of The Last Queen, who identified the victims as an employee at the restaurant, Nevin Vince, and his girlfriend, Natalie, in an emotional post on social media.
“I think we’re in shell shock,” Adrian Shergill, owner of The Last Queen in Enon, said in an interview with News Center 7’s Mike Campbell.
Shergill said all his high school employees are great, but Vince was a step above.
“In character and personality, Nevin was like right at the top, and everyone felt the same. He had such an incredible work ethic; he always came in, he was so positive,” he said.
Roy said the impact of the Tahoe and Trax was “catastrophic.”
“This crash was catastrophic as it was a high-speed impact at a high rate of speed,” Roy said.
The Tahoe then hit a Chevy Malibu in the same lane.
The 33-year-old driver was seriously hurt and is in critical condition, according to Roy.
The Tahoe came to rest near the concrete barrier. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The sheriff’s office and the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office have not formally named anyone involved in the crash.
We will continue to follow this story.
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