A 12-year-old girl died following a five-car crash on State Route 2 in Lorain County on Wednesday afternoon, the Ohio State Highway Patrol confirmed.
The crash happened around 2:29 p.m. in Amherst Township. According to OSHP, an International 4300 box truck, 2007 Jeep Liberty and a 2012 Subaru Forester were traveling eastbound when the box truck rear-ended the Jeep Liberty and pushed it into the Subaru Forester, which in turn was pushed into a nearby Chevrolet Silverado. A Jeep Grand Cherokee was also hit by flying debris.
RELATED: Part of SR 2 eastbound in Lorain County closed aftercrashinvolving commercial truck
The 12-year-old was riding in the backseat of the Jeep Liberty when the crash happened. The girl was extricated from the Liberty by the Amherst Fire Department and then flown to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland but later died from her injuries.
The Liberty's 41-year-old driver — who is from Lorain — suffered incapacitating injuries. An 11-year-old boy who was sitting in the front passenger seat also sustained non-incapacitating injuries. Both were taken to University Hospitals Elyria Medical Center for treatment. A 2-year-old boy that was inside the vehicle was flown to Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital with incapacitating injuries, authorities said.
The 31-year-old Cleveland driver in the Subaru Forester and her 17-year-old passenger weren't injured in the crash.
The 44-year-old Vermilion driver in the Chevrolet Silverado suffered a non-incapacitating injury and was not transported by EMS.
The 49-year-old Sandusky driver in the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the two passengers in her vehicle weren't injured in the crash.
Police said the driver of the box truck, a 48-year-old Canton man, was not injured in the crash.
The highway was closed for several hours while emergency crews worked on scene.
Drug use is suspected as a cause of the crash, troopers said. Charges have not been filed but are pending the outcome of the investigation.
