Clark County releases 9-1-1 call from fatal I-70 crash

Calls to 9-1-1 obtained by the Springfield News-Sun detail the scene moments after a fatal crash on I-70 in Clark County on Tuesday morning.

“There was a silver car that was going eastbound that had to be doing over 100 and I think it sideswiped this car and flipped it,” a person who called 9-1-1 told dispatch.

He said two men outside the car were conscious, but said one person was trapped inside.

“He still unconscious inside,” the man said.

Also, the Springfield News-Sun obtained the mug shot of Mark Terrell taken at the Clark County Jail via a public records request. Terrell, 37, of South Charleston is suspected of causing the crash, according to investigators.

Terrell was released from Clark County Jail early Tuesday after being booked, Clark County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Kristopher Shultz said. A suspect facing a possible felony charge can be held in the jail for 48 hours, Shultz said, but a prosecutor reviewed the case against Terrell and decided to release him.

Terrell has not been formally charged in Clark County Municipal Court nor Clark County Common Pleas Court.

Clark County Prosecutor Dan Driscoll said his office is awaiting test results from samples collected at the scene.

He said it is possible for Terrell to be indicted in Clark County Common Pleas Court at a later date. Driscoll said he anticipates presenting the evidence to a Clark County Grand Jury once the results are available.

Meanwhile, the condition of a 21-year-old man who was life-flighted to Miami Valley Hospital Tuesday morning following the crash has improved.

A Miami Valley Hospital spokeswoman said Zach Cooper III, of Brockport, N.Y., was in fair condition on Wednesday morning. Cooper was transported to Springfield Regional Medical Center and then flown to Miami Valley Hospital after being injured in the fatal crash near exit 59, according to a report from the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

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Cooper was a passenger in a Ford Focus being driven by Matthew Eskeli IV, of Falconer, N.Y. The state patrol said the Ford was hit by a BMW.

“The BMW struck the left side of the Ford Focus, causing the Ford Focus to travel off the right side of the roadway,” the release says. “The Ford Focus struck an exit sign, light pole, and rolled over before coming to final rest on its left side. The BMW continued eastbound for a short distance before it became disabled along the right berm.”

Eskeli was also transported to the hospital but died from his injuries, an OSP spokesperson said.

The highway patrol says Terrell of South Charleston was the driver of the BMW and he was arrested at the scene of the crash on charges of aggravated vehicular homicide and tampering with evidence.

“The driver was found to be intoxicated,” said OSP Springfield Post Commander Lt. Brian Aller. “So he was transported to Clark County Jail.”

The Springfield Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol began their investigation Tuesday morning at 2:33 a.m. when they were told that a crash had taken place in Clark County, the report says.

Aller said speed also played a factor in the crash.

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“He was going so fast,” Aller said. “He just kept on going and came to a stop about a quarter mile up the road.”

Another man, Benjamin Cooper, 22, who was in the back seat of the Ford Focus was also injured in the crash. He was transported to Springfield Regional Hospital for precautionary reasons, an OSP spokesperson said.

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