Five people were sent to hospitals following chain reaction crash

HARRISON COUNTY – The five occupants in a four-vehicle chain reaction crash were transported to hospitals Thursday afternoon.

The crash occurred near the intersection of U.S. Route 250 and Deersville Road (Harrison County Road 55) along Tappan Lake.

According to the Steubenville Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, at 4:30 p.m. a semi truck and a trailer was westbound on U.S. 250 when it rear-ended a Chevrolet Cruze, pushing the car into the opposite lane. That car was struck head-on by a Nissan Titan pickup truck traveling eastbound. The Nissan went through the guardrail, and was partially submerged in water. A red Hyundai Elantra behind the pickup truck then struck the Nissan and debris on the roadway.

The semi and trailer caught fire.

Hopedale Fire Department first responded to the scene, assisted by Cadiz and Scio, along with the Ohio Department of Transportation for traffic control.

Two adults and a child were transported via medical helicopter to hospitals for further treatment and evaluation.

Environmental factors at play

Scio firefighters set up a containment boom to control any potential hazardous materials. It was determined that engine fluids and anti-freeze had leaked into the water. After pulling out the truck, officials didn't see any further contamination, he said.

Eric Wilson, director of the Harrison County Emergency Management Agency, was called to the scene because of potential hazardous materials in Tappan Lake, since the pickup truck went into the water. The water of Tappan Lake is the drinking water supply for Cadiz.

Another environmental concern was that the semi-truck that caught fire in the crash burned so hot that one of the diesel tanks melted. Fuel was moving toward the water, so Scio firefighters worked quickly to contain spillage only to the roadway.

Later in the evening officials took a boat ride to further investigate possible contamination. They were looking for a rainbow color on the water or any smell and found no issues, he said.

"From an environmental standpoint, there was no contamination," Wilson said.

Lauren Borell with ODOT District 11 said that Route 250 was shut down from 5 to 9:30 p.m.

OSHP was assisted by the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office, ODOT, the Harrison County EMA, the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District, Cadiz Fire and EMS, Tappan Lake Fire and EMS, Hopedale Fire and EMS, Deersville EMS and Rosenberry Towing.

The crash remains under investigation.

T-R staff photographer Andrew Dolph can be reached by phone at 330-289-6072, or by email at adolph3@gannett.com . You can also find him on Instagram @dolphphoto . Jon Baker contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Five people were sent to hospitals following chain reaction crash