Early Sunday morning in Clermont County, a terrible accident claimed five lives and left one more severely injured. About 1:43 a.m., the incident happened on State Route 28 close to Edenton Pleasant Plain Road. Two vehicles—a 2005 Chrysler 300 and a 2007 Subaru Legacy—were involved in the incident, which the Ohio State Highway Patrol is investigating.
Among the Chrysler deaths were Mathew Penny, 25; Chloe Love, 19; and Dezmen Jernigan, 18. The Subaru victims were out to be Andrea Iery, 42 and Dustin McDole, 43. Penny was driving the Chrysler at the time of the incident; McDole was seated at the Subaru’s wheel. The Clermont County Coroner’s Office declared each of the five dead at the scene.
Surviving the incident, 18-year-old Ayden Taylor of Penny’s Chrysler was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Centre with what officials said to be “life-threatening injuries.” Penny struck McDole’s car as she tried to cross State Route 28 from Edenton Pleasant Plain Road, according to preliminary findings. Both cars swerved off the road and into a neighbouring ditch upon collision.
Although information on the other passengers’ seatbelt usage has not been released, witnesses observed that both McDole and Iery were sporting seatbelts at the time of the tragedy. Not yet moved by officials, a crew on the site noted significant damage to both vehicles.
Along with the Ohio State Highway Patrol, responders included the Clermont County Coroner’s Office, Goshen Police Department, Goshen Township Fire & EMS, Warren County EMS, Loveland-Symmes Township EMS.
Living close to the crossroads, Kenneth May said he saw the crash from his porch. “The car that was going north passed my house at a high rate of speed… it was like a Hollywood movie,” he said, clearly upset by the occurrence. May said, “Five dead people,” lamenting the frequency of incidents at the crossing and advocating more safety precautions. It’s awful.
