Stretch of I-75 in Miami County named for motor carrier inspector killed on duty

A stretch of Interstate 75 in Miami County was dedicated Thursday in memory of a motor carrier enforcement inspector killed in the line of duty in November 2019.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol MCEI Kimra Skelton Memorial Highway marker will be displayed along both north and south lanes of Interstate 75, between Routes 41 and 36.

“Today’s highway dedication is in remembrance of Kimra, a devoted motor carrier enforcement inspector of the Ohio State Highway Patrol,” said Col. Charles A. Jones, Patrol superintendent. “Her attention to detail in dealing with commercial vehicles transporting hazardous materials, and ensuring the safe operation of commercial motor vehicles within Ohio, is what service with a purpose looks like.”

Kimra Skelton, 49, of Arcanum was killed when her state vehicle was struck by a pickup truck the morning of Nov. 27, 2019, while she was parked in a crossover on Interstate 75 in Troy.

Skelton had been a member of the patrol since October 2005, a job her father also once held. She was survived by her husband and two children.

Credit: Ohio State Highway Patrol

Credit: Ohio State Highway Patrol

Investigators said Christopher G. Coorough, 45, of Kettering was driving a Ford F-250 north on I-75 at 6:45 a.m. Nov. 27, 2019, when the pickup truck went off the left side of the highway and hit Skelton’s parked vehicle. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Coorough was treated for minor injuries at Kettering Health’s Troy Hospital.

Coorough pleaded guilty to misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter in Miami County Common Pleas Court and was sentenced to 90 days in jail, suspended 30 days, and was ordered to complete two years of probation. His driver’s license also was suspended for two years.

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