1 killed in 3-vehicle crash on Ohio 13
BELLVILLE – A Mount Vernon man was killed early Tuesday after his minivan veered left of the center lane on Ohio 13 a couple miles south of Bellville, the Mansfield Post of the Ohio Highway Patrol said.
Nicholas A. Frankart, 29, of Mount Vernon, was pronounced dead after being transported to Knox Community Hospital in Mount Vernon. He was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, which occurred on 13 between Honey Creek and Ross roads in southern Richland County.
Frankart's southbound vehicle struck a northbound Chrysler Sebring driven by Teresa L. Farnham, 60, of Mount Vernon, and then a northbound Ford F-150 driven by Christopher W. Flack, 31, of Bellville, the Highway Patrol said.
Farnham was transported to OhioHealth MedCentral Hospital in Mansfield, and later transferred to Grant Medical Center in Columbus, where her condition was not disclosed. Flack was transported to Knox Community Hospital with minor injuries.
Frankart's minivan was rolled onto its top from the crash, coming to rest off the west side of Ohio 13, while Flack's pickup, which also sustained heavy damage, wound up in a yard off the east side of the road. Farnham's Chrysler rested in the same yard a few yards to the north of Flack's vehicle.
The crash littered the highway with debris that had spilled out of the three vehicles.
The Mansfield Post of the Ohio Highway Patrol, Bellville/Washington Township Fire Department and Fredericktown EMS were first at the scene Tuesday morning. Local volunteer emergency personnel also responded.
The crash occurred during the morning rush hour and closed Ohio 13, a major north-south artery in the region, for two and a half hours. ODOT reopened the road around 10 a.m. While most motorists found routes around the crash via local county and township roads, dozens of tractor-trailers lined up on 13, waiting for the scene to be cleared.
Tuesday's incident was Richland County's seventh fatal vehicular crash so far this year. Two have occurred in the Mansfield area, with the others taking place on Interstate 71 near Ohio 13, just south of Lexington, between Plymouth and Shiloh, and north of Shelby.
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Twitter: @ToddHillMNJ
