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A head-on crash involving an ODOT vehicle resulted in the death of a one-year-old in Morgan County
By: Kaitlin Thorne | The Ohio Newsroom
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MALTA TOWNSHIP, Ohio (The Ohio Newsroom) — The Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Marietta Post is investigating a fatal crash involving a state vehicle in Morgan County.
Police were called to the scene of the head-on accident on Route 37 in Malta Township around 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning. An early investigation shows Christopher Gorrell, 46, of McConnelsville was driving an Ohio Department of Transportation Ford 150 truck, when he allegedly drove left of center and struck a Chevy Equinox.
A one-year-old passenger in the Equinox was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a press release from the Ohio State Highway Patrol. The driver of the Equinox, Madison Grimmett, 20, of Crooksville, was taken to Genesis Hospital in Zanesville with serious injuries. Gorrell sustained non-life threatening injuries and was treated at Marietta Memorial Hospital.
The crash remains under investigation.
It’s the third fatal crash in Morgan County this year. Statewide, there have been more than 900 traffic fatalities in 2026.