2 fatal crashes kills three people in Clark County

Three people were killed in two accidents in Clark County over the weekend, including a fiery crash in Springfield that killed two people and injured a third.

Officials responded to the 1800 block of West Pleasant Street near Dayton Avenue on Saturday about 6:20 p.m. and found a gray Chrysler 300 on fire.

The driver, Charles L. Foster II, 26, of Springfield and front seat passenger Kiarrah N. Young, 24, of Springfield, were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, according to a Springfield Police Division crash report.

RELATED: Police: Fiery crash in Springfield kills 2, injures 1

Jeffrey Brown, 28, was a backseat passenger in the car and was transported to Miami Valley Regional Hospital in Dayton. He remained in Miami Valley on Monday afternoon and was listed in good condition, according to hospital officials.

The police report says the Chrysler was traveling westbound on Pleasant Street at the time of the accident.

“The vehicle … struck an Ohio Edison utility pole, struck a large concrete enclosure, spun around and came to rest in the roadway facing southeast,” the report says. “After impact with the concrete enclosure, the vehicle caught fire.”

Emergency 9-1-1 calls were released by Springfield police on Monday that indicated witnesses believed that the Chrysler was moving fast and burst into flames after the crash.

“There’s been a wreck on West Pleasant Street,” a woman said to 9-1-1 dispatchers. “He was running 100 miles per hour. I saw flames and we all are running down here.”

RELATED: Driver killed in 2-vehicle crash by Masonic home near Springfield

Another woman told dispatchers that a car had blown up.

“Please hurry. He’s alive,” she said.

“They’re coming to help you,” she can be heard screaming to the man inside the car.

A third woman described the fire to Springfield dispatchers.

“There are flames that are maybe 40 feet high,” she said.

A second, unrelated weekend crash crash claimed the life of a 48-year-old man Sunday.

Gary L. Preston, of Springfield, was killed at a crash near the Ohio Masonic Home, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Preston was driving a 2008 Toyota Yaris south on Upper Valley Pike just before 7:30 p.m. Sunday when he didn’t stop for a red light, troopers said. His car was struck on the passenger side by a 2016 Chevrolet 2500HD pickup truck that was headed east on U.S. 40 and driven by Douglas E. Maddy, 57, of Zanesfield, troopers said.

Maddy was treated at the scene. His front seat passenger, 53-year-old Lynney M. Maddy, and three juveniles were taken to Springfield Regional Medical Center with minor injuries, according to troopers.

The crash closed eastbound lanes of U.S. 40 for about three hours. The Clark County Sheriff’s Office and Springfield Twp. Fire and EMS also responded to the scene.


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The Springfield News-Sun reports on important public safety issues, including recent stories on efforts to widen Interstate 70 in Clark County and an increase last year in wrong-way crashes on highways.

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