Three Students Killed in Wrong-Way Crash
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iStockphoto/Thinkstock(BOWLING GREEN, Ohio) — A wrong way crash in Ohio involving five students on their way to Spring break left four people dead and two critically injured early Friday morning.
Sixteen Alpha Xi Delta sorority sisters from Bowling Green State University were heading to the airport in several cars for a Dominican Republic Spring break trip.
Around 2:15 a.m. on Interstate 75, south of Toledo, one of the cars with five of the sorority sisters was hit by a car going the wrong way, confirms Ohio State Patrol.
The driver of the wrong-way car, Winifred Lein, 69, of Perry, Ohio, was traveling alone.
Lein died in the crash along with junior Rebekah Blakkolb, 20, of Aurora, Ohio; sophomore Christina Goyett, 19, of Bay City, Mich.; and junior Sarah Hammond, 21, of Yellow Springs, Ohio.
Freshman Angelica Mormile, 19, of Garfield Heights, Ohio, and Kayla Somoles, 19, of Cleveland are listed in critical condition at Mercy St. Vincent Hospital in Toledo.
The Ohio State Patrol received a call about the wrong-way driver minutes before the crash and was in the process of trying to find the driver.
Students in one of the other cars witnessed the crash and were able to provide troopers information, Lt. Dean Laubacher of Ohio Highway Patrol told ABC local affiliate WTVG.
“To say they were traumatized would be an understatement,” Laubacher said.
WTVG also obtained 911 calls made before the crash. At least three separate calls were made reporting the car driving southbound on the northbound side. The final call requested medical assistance to the scene of the crash.
Bowling Green President Mary Ellen Mazey posted on the university’s Facebook page, “It’s hard to comprehend the loss of such young lives, and we feel deeply for their families and friends. The University mourns them and we will miss them greatly.”
The university is offering grief counseling, available to all students.
Alpha Xi Delta fraternity released a statement encouraging members to send notes of condolences to the chapter in Bowling Green.
The crash remains under investigation.
Lein was previously cited for a lane-change violation in September 2002. He pled guilty to a $61 traffic violation involving driving safely within parked lanes.
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