BLADENSBURG — A mother, her two daughters and an infant all were injured when their Jeep Cherokee crashed Thursday at 7:08 p.m. The mother, Amy Brown, 38, St. Louisville, was not buckled up and suffered head, neck, back and abdominal injuries. She is in fair condition in Grant Hospital, Columbus.
A daughter, Whitney Smith, 16, Johnstown, suffered head, neck and back injuries. She is in Grant Hospital in good condition. The other daughter, Alexis Lear, 12, St. Louisville, and the infant, not a relative, Drevyann Blankenship, just 5 weeks old are both in Nationwide Childrens Hospital. The hospital didn’t have permission to release their condition reports.
Ohio State Highway Patrol Trooper Mason Boyce, who investigated the crash on Ohio 541, halfway between Martinsburg and Bladensburg, said MedFlight helicopters were not flying so the patients were transported to Columbus by Critical Life ambulances.
Boyce said Brown was driving westbound and said she became distracted and looked down from the road. When she looked up the Jeep was leaving the road. She corrected the steering several times but lost control. The Jeep swerved off the right side the road and hit the embankment over a driveway culvert with the right front wheel.
The impact caused the vehicle to swing hard to the left where it hit a utility pole and large fence corner post hard enough to cave in the body at the center post. All four were trapped in the Jeep. The first Bladensburg firefighter on the scene called for rescue equipment and a Utica squad. The rescuers used Jaws of Life to cut into the vehicle, eventually cutting off the top completely. The rescue effort took 30 minutes.
Ohio 541 was closed for about an hour. The crash is still under investigation.
