News
Two Wrecks Tangle Johnson Road
By: Susan Tebben | The Athens Messenger
Posted on:
Thursday evening was not a good time to be on Johnson Road in The Plains, as two wrecks blocked intersections in the area.
The crashes started at about 4 p.m. at the road's intersection with Route 33. Traffic was reduced to one lane on Route 33 after two vehicles collided, ending up in the eastbound lanes and Route 33 and blocking Johnson Road.
Joan Ruth, 87, of Athens, was attempting to turn left onto Johnson Road from the westbound lane of Route 33 when she failed to yield to the vehicle driven by Lacey Casto, 24, of Albany, who was driving eastbound, according to a release by the Ohio State Highway Patrol's Athens post.
Casto's vehicle struck Ruth's and both vehicles went off the side of the roadway, into the guardrail.
Both Ruth and Casto were transported by ambulance to Ohio Health O'Bleness Hospital, as was Michael Castro, 34, a passenger in Lacey Castro's car, and Mary Mullins, a passenger in Ruth's vehicle. All four individuals were treated for "non-incapacitating" injuries, the release stated.
None of the injuries were said to be life-threatening. Ruth was cited for failure to yield in the crash.
Later that evening, another crash occurred at the intersection of Johnson Road and Clinton Street in The Plains.
Patricia Thomas, 63, of The Plains, had been traveling northbound on Clinton Street at about 5:30 p.m. when she failed to yield to a stop sign and was struck by a vehicle driven by Rhonda Reedy, 54, of Glouster.
Reedy, passenger Jennifer Young, 32, of Athens, and two juveniles were taken to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, according to a trooper at the scene of the crash. Thomas did not report any injuries.
Thomas was cited for failure to yield.
The two crashes add to the list of failure-to-yield violations that the highway patrol said have risen in 2014. Local troopers say the violation may exceed all other crash causes for the year.