Centerville assistant coach dies in I-70 wreck

An assistant coach for the Centerville Elks High School football team was killed in a crash on Interstate 70 that closed a portion of the highway for more than three hours Sunday morning.

Francois Hagenimana, 24, an alumnus of Centerville High School and a resident of Kettering, was driving west in the eastbound lanes on I- 70 in a Toyota Scion when his vehicle collided head-on with a Honda Accord traveling west that was driven by Jason Fricke, 28, of Westerville around 3:09 a.m., according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Both drivers were pronounced dead at the scene. Neither driver had passengers.

“At this point in time the investigation does look like we did have somebody that was going the wrong way,” said Lt. Matthew Cleaveland of the state patrol.

Several 911 calls were received before the crash from drivers reporting a wrong-way driver on the interstate, Cleaveland said.

It was unknown at press time whether alcohol or speed were factors in the crash.

Hagenimana was in his first year as an assistant coach with the Elks and had recently enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He wanted to become a Navy SEAL.

Hagenimana attended Ashland University, where he played corner and safety. He graduated in 2012.

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