Fifth person in fiery Clark County crash dies; another victim ID’d

Four people died as the result of a two-vehicle crash in Clark County late Saturday, March 12, 2022. MARSHALL GORBY/STAFF

Credit: MARSHALL GORBY/STAFF

Credit: MARSHALL GORBY/STAFF

Four people died as the result of a two-vehicle crash in Clark County late Saturday, March 12, 2022. MARSHALL GORBY/STAFF

A fifth person involved in a fiery two-car crash March 12 in Clark County has died, and officials released the name of a fourth victim they had been withholding because his identity had not been verified.

Driver Hope Griffin, 43 of Enon, died of her injuries after more than a week at Miami Valley Hospital, officials said Wednesday. It’s not clear when she was pronounced dead.

David Griffin, 50, her husband, who along with their son was a passenger in their Mini Cooper, died on the night of the crash. The boy, whose identity has not been released, was taken to the hospital and later released, officials said.

Of the three people who died in the second vehicle — a Mercedes-Benz — the identity of Anuj Dutta, 23, of Springfield, had not been released until Wednesday, when the Clark County Coroner’s Office identified him through DNA analysis. Hamza Iftikhar, 33, and Michael Javier Crespo Capella, 29, both of Springfield, were also in the vehicle, and they died at the scene.

The accident occurred when the white Mercedes-Benz Iftikhar was driving south on Middle Urbana Road ran a red light and collided with the Griffins’ Mini Cooper, which was traveling west on Ohio 334, police said. The Mercedes reportedly burst into flames immediately after the collision.

The crash remains under investigation.

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