Trooper, driver hurt in accident

Springfield Twp. crash involved cable barrier in I-70 median.

A state trooper was injured while investigating a crash on Interstate 70 early Tuesday after a vehicle hit a cable guardrail that then struck her and another person.

Radio traffic indicated several slide-off accidents along Interstate 70 in the early morning hours because of icy conditions. Ohio State Highway Patrol Sgt. Erika A. Englund was investigating a one-vehicle crash on Interstate 70 eastbound near the Ohio 72 exit in Springfield Twp. when she and that driver were injured.

According to the highway patrol’s Springfield post, Englund was standing on the inside berm with the driver, Gayle Harris, 56, of Huber Heights. As the two were preparing to enter the cruiser, a vehicle traveling westbound went off the left side of the road and into the median. It struck the cable barrier, pushing the barrier into Englund and Harris. The barrier also struck the patrol car.

Englund was taken to Springfield Regional Medical Center with non-life threatening injures. Harris was taken to Springfield Regional Medical Center and was later flown by CareFlight to Miami Valley Hospital. She was listed in serious condition Tuesday afternoon.

The driver of the vehicle that struck Englund and Harris, identified as Mohaddisa Suchedina, 27, was not injured, according to the highway patrol.

More information was not immediately available from the Springfield post, and the crash remains under investigation.

The Ohio Department of Transportation maintains the cable barriers along the interstate. Since 2003, the state has installed about 277 miles of cable median barriers. They are designed prevent cross-median crashes, such as those caused by icy and wet conditions, according to ODOT.

Locations where cable barriers are installed do see more median crashes than where concrete barriers are installed. However, ODOT reported the barriers are less expensive than concrete ones and often result in less severe crashes. An ODOT spokesman said they are investigating the performance of the cable barriers involved in Tuesday’s crash.

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