The sheriff’s office responded around 2:50 p.m. to the intersection of Klepinger and Turner roads after a white Kia Optima traveling east on Turner Road at high speed collided with the bus, said Sheriff’s Capt. Brad Daugherty.
The RTA driver, a 67-year-old Dayton man, was the only person aboard the bus at the time of the crash. Daugherty said witnesses reported the Kia was traveling about 80 to 90 mph before the crash. However, the crash report says that the Kia was traveling an estimated 60 mph in a 50 mph zone.
The captain said the Kia was not being chased before the crash.
The bus was traveling 10 mph, the report says.
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
The Kia was reported stolen in Xenia, the captain said. A report says that on Dec. 27, the Xenia Police Division investigated a motor vehicle theft from Besco Car & Truck Superstore on Dayton Avenue. An employee said that a male had stolen the Kia off the car lot across the street from the dealership’s main lot.
The keys were in the vehicle and it fled at a high speed, the report says.
Sheriff’s officials said the crash is still being investigated. The crash report did provide a brief narrative of the incident.
“(The Kia) was traveling east on Turner Road in the left lane approaching the intersection with Klepinger Road (The bus) was traveling north on Klepinger Road approaching the intersection with Turner Rd. (The bus) failed to yield when turning left to travel west onto Turner Rd. from Klepinger Road (The Kia) struck (the bus).
The sheriff’s office said it is still working to determine who was at fault in the crash. The RTA bus had a stop sign and would need to yield to oncoming traffic, the office said, but the investigation could find evidence that would shift the blame to the driver of the Kia depending on how he was operating the vehicle.
The report says none of the four males inside the Kia were wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash and it says one passenger had to be removed using mechanical means.
