State Rt. 21 near Canal Fulton reopens after car and tanker truck collide

LAWRENCE TWP. − A three-vehicle accident Wednesday afternoon resulted in Route 21 being closed in both directions for more than half an hour at Forty Corners Road NW, police said.

Ambulances took two men to area hospitals, said Lawrence Township Police Sgt. Dan Lockwood.

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Lockwood said shortly before 3:14 p.m., an 80-year-old man drove a sport-utility vehicle west on Forty Corners and entered the eastern side of its intersection with Route 21. He failed to yield to a north-bound tanker truck on Route 21, which could not stop in time to avoid a collision.

One of the vehicles or both then collided with another westbound car that was on the median of Route 21 waiting for traffic to clear so it could go west across the southbound lanes of Route 21.

The 80-year-old man suffered broken ribs and a possible collapsed lung, said Lockwood. A township fire ambulance took him to Aultman Hospital where he's expected to be the next several days. The sergeant said witnesses told police that it appeared the driver of the SUV never stopped to look for vehicles going north on Route 21. He faces a charge of failure to yield. The man who was driving the car on the median was also hurt, an injury described as not life-threatening. An ambulance took him to Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital.

The truck driver was not hurt. He was not carrying any liquid in his tanker truck. Lockwood said no hazardous spills took place.

Police said due to the number of emergency vehicles that needed to park at the scene, all lanes of Route 21 were closed for about 30 to 45 minutes. Vehicles had to be detoured around the crash scene. Emergency responders then opened one lane in each direction. The scene was cleared by about 5:30 p.m.

Reach Robert at robert.wang@cantonrep.com. X formerly Twitter: @rwangREP.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: State Rt. 21 near Canal Fulton reopens after car and tanker truck collide