By Cliff Pinckard
cleveland.com
CONCORD TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Ten people were taken to hospitals, including two by helicopter to Cleveland, after a van attempted to make a U-turn during the early-morning hours Tuesday on a highway in Lake County, authorities say.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office says in a news release that a 2019 Mercedes Benz Sprinter 2500 van was driving north on four-lane section of Ohio 44 near the exit to Ohio 84 just after 2 a.m. The van, which was carrying nine people, reportedly tried to make a U-turn from the right lane into the left lane of the one-way section and was struck on the driver’s side by a 2015 Honda CRV, which had been traveling behind the van.
The sheriff’s office says several passengers were trapped in the van after the crash and had to be cut free by members of the Concord Township Fire Department. The female driver of the van and the passengers were taken to University Hospitals TriPoint Medical Center in Concord Township, with two being flown by helicopter to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland because of the severity of their injuries.
The male driver of the Honda also was taken to TriPoint, the sheriff’s office says. The names of the drivers and passengers have not been released and information on their conditions was not available Tuesday night.
The crash closed Ohio 44 for more than three hours, according to the sheriff’s office. The crash remains under investigation, but the sheriff’s office says it doesn’t believe alcohol or drugs were factors.
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