CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — One person was killed when three vehicles collided in Ross County Saturday night, while seven other people — including children — were rushed to the hospital.
The Highway Patrol said the crash took place on route 23 northbound, just south of Three Locks Road after 10 p.m.
Shanna Caddock, 31, Huntington, West Virginia, was heading southbound on 23. Simultaneously, Abigail Preston, 22. Waverly, also traveling southbound, failed to maintain an assured clear distance ahead. Preston slammed into the rear of Caddock, troopers said, causing both vehicles to veer off the left side of the roadway and cross the median into the northbound lanes. Phillip Pryor, 68, Zanesville, was driving northbound on route 23, and was hit head-on by Preston, troopers said.
Caddock, along with passengers James Eplin, 41, Chesapeake, Ohio, Tammy Brumfield, 50, Proctorville, and three children were taken to the hospital in stable condition.
Pryor succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased at the scene. His passenger, Teresa Schultheis, 68, also from Zanesville, was flown to Grant Medical Center in serious condition.
Preston, the driver at fault, troopers said, emerged without injuries and was found to be drunk. She was arrested for vehicular homicide and multiple other charges and taken to jail.
The highway was closed for three hours as the accident was cleaned up.
