A Guysville man was killed and two others were hospitalized Thursday in a fatal two-vehicle collision on Old Route 33 near the Athens Boarding Kennel, authorities said.
Kurt Raschke, 69, was pronounced dead Thursday by Athens County Coroner Harold Thompson. Raschke was driving an estimated 10 mph in a white 1997 Buick LeSabre westbound on Route 33, according to an initial report from the Athens post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
The car that hit the LeSabre, a 1997 Ford Explorer, was heading eastbound at 50 mph when the driver “lost control in a curve and slid off the right side of the roadway, overcorrected and slid left of center striking” the vehicle Raschke was operating, the report states. It also states Raschke was not wearing a safety belt.
The report lists the crash time at 10:21 a.m., and firefighters at the crash site from the Richland Volunteer Fire Department said they arrived at the scene around 10.30 a.m. after responding to a 9-1-1 call.
The operator of the Explorer, Ronald Hedrick, 53, and a passenger, Wendy Hedrick, 39, both sustained some injuries and were transported to the emergency room at O’Bleness Memorial Hospital.
The report lists criminal charges against Ronald Hedrick as “pending,” which state dispatcher Robby Robinson said is procedural when there is a loss of life in a vehicle crash. Robinson said details of the collision will be compiled and then forwarded to Athens County Prosecutor Keller Blackburn’s office as soon as Monday.
As of press time, there were no indications that alcohol was involved in causing the collision, Robinson said.
Ronald McGill, a resident living nearby who did not witness the accident, said it is commonplace for accidents to happen on Old Route 33.
“There’s always something happening around here,” McGill said. “This is a bad highway.”
Tow trucks were at the crash site Thursday afternoon to assist authorities with removing the wreckage.
Highway Patrol Sgt. Aaron Hayes said the road leading up to the crash site was closed at about 11.45 a.m. to prevent the public from entering the area and reopened at about 3:30 p.m.
