“It’s a horrible accident,” said Sheriff Rob Streck, who added witnesses saw the two walking in the middle of the road.
The girl killed was identified by the county coroner as 17-year-old Dyimond Wright, who Streck said was hit by a car going south in the left through lane near Carson Avenue.
“Hey ma’am, a little girl got hit in front of my house and she’s dead,” a woman told a 911 dispatcher at 9:34 p.m. Tuesday. “The person took off, so … It’s sad.”
Streck said shortly after that, an unidentified 23-year-old woman was struck by a northbound vehicle in the left through lane and may have been hit by a third vehicle. She suffered life-threatening injuries and was in critical condition, sheriff’s officials said.
“All of the vehicles involved in this fled the scene without stopping,” Streck said. “There’s little evidence at the scene. We’re reconstructing it, trying to put it together, but at this point, anybody who has any information about this accident (Tuesday) night, they’re asked to call” (937) 225-HELP (4357) or Sgt. Rick Moebius at (937) 225-4217.
A dispatch log indicated one suspect vehicle may be dark metallic blue with a missing driver’s side rear-view mirror.
Streck said the sidewalks had snow and ice on them, but that wasn’t necessarily the reason why the victims were walking in the road.
“If they would have stopped once they struck the victims, it could be a whole different story,” Streck said. “Once again, if people are in the middle of the road in an unlit area, there may not have even been charges filed, depending on what was going on and what the statements said and all that. But as soon as you leave that accident scene, now you’re facing several different types of charges that you could face.”
Streck said Harrison Twp. had 11 pedestrian crashes, including three fatalities in 2018. The sheriff said a joint state and county study is ongoing to see if structural or lighting changes are needed on North Main Street, where multiple fatalities have happened.
“We’ve got to get people to use sidewalks, cross at lights,” Streck said. “It’s just too dangerous out there. And we have multiple fatalities a year because we have people jaywalking at night with dark clothing on and are in areas that have no lighting.”
Streck said most pedestrian crashes have proven to be the pedestrian’s fault.
He said it’s “somebody deciding that’s where they want to cross and they think they can make it. Vehicles travel a lot faster than sometimes you realize. That mistake, that choice, could cause you to lose your life as we find out numerous times per year.”
MORE: Read other stories from Mark Gokavi
SOCIAL MEDIA: Follow Mark Gokavi on Twitter or Facebook
About the Author