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Two killed in head-on crash

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Two people were killed after a pickup truck went left of center, leading to a head-on crash on Morris Road just south of Windy Ridge Drive in Moorefield Twp. early Thursday morning, Nov. 5, 2009.

Staff photo by Marshall Gorby Two people were killed after a pickup truck went left of center, leading to a head-on crash on Morris Road just south of Windy Ridge Drive in Moorefield Twp. early Thursday morning, Nov. 5, 2009.

By Ken Paxson Updated 12:54 PM Thursday, November 5, 2009

MOOREFIELD TWP. — Two people were killed after a pickup truck went left of center, leading to a head-on crash here Thursday morning, Nov. 5.

Trooper Douglas Bitler of the Springfield Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol said Robert R. Johnson, 45, of London, was declared dead at the scene. Tricia A. Wirth, 39, of Springfield, was taken by CareFlight to Miami Valley Hospital, where she died from her injuries.

Bitler said Brianna Compston, 2, was a passenger in Wirth’s 2008 Honda Pilot, and did not appear to be seriously injured. She was taken to a local hospital to be evaluated after the accident.

Wirth, a mother of four, was married to Lt. Brian Wirth of the Springfield Fire and Rescue Division.

Bitler said the crash occurred at 6:29 a.m. on Morris Road, just south of the intersection with Windy Ridge Drive. However, the intersection did not play a part in the crash, he said.

Johnson was headed north on Morris Road in a 2001 Ford Ranger when he went left of center, striking Wirth, who was headed south on Morris Road in a 2008 Honda Pilot.

No one witnessed the accident, and Bitler said it is unclear why the pickup went left of center.

He said it is not yet clear whether Wirth or Johnson were wearing seat belts. Compston was in a car seat directly behind Wirth.

“The car seat seemed to do a pretty good job of protecting the child,” Bitler said.

He said there is no evidence that alcohol was involved in the crash.

Troopers were on the scene for more than three hours, and Emergency Medical Service workers and firefighters from Moorefield Twp. also assisted at the scene.

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