A collision between a car and dump truck in Claridon Township the morning of May 7 left one man dead and a woman with life-threatening injuries, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
A collision between a car and dump truck in Claridon Township the morning of May 7 left one man dead and a woman with life-threatening injuries, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
Katherine Taddeo, 66, of Rome, was driving a 2016 Hyundai Elantra westbound on Chardon Windsor Road around 8:30 a.m. and failed to yield after stopping at a stop sign, said OSHP Lt. Larry Jones in a press release.
Jeff Hazen, 67, of Chardon, who was driving a 1985 International Scout dump truck northbound on state Route 608, struck the driver’s side of the Elantra and the vehicles subsequently traveled off the west side of Route 608, with the Elantra striking a tree and the dump truck striking the ditch, Jones said.
Hazen was pronounced dead on the scene and Taddeo was transported to University Hospitals Geauga Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, the lieutenant said in the release.
The intersection was closed for investigation at the time of this article’s posting.
The Chardon Fire Department — who responded to the scene alongside the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office, OSHP, Burton Fire Department, Hambden Fire Department, Geauga County Coroner and Ohio Department of Transportation — put out a statement May 7 regarding the dangers of that intersection.
This marks the third crash at Route 608 and Chardon Windsor Road since late April that Chardon FD has posted about — the others were on April 27 and May 2.
“Chardon Fire will be working with Claridon Township Trustees, ODOT and the Geauga County Engineer’s Office to plan for changes at this intersection, as we try to make it safer for motorists traveling through there,” the fire department wrote.
The fire department also reminded drivers to look twice in all directions before proceeding into an intersection.
“Accidents that occur at these intersections will demand the full on-duty staff and equipment response,” it wrote. “These calls may involve the use of the jaws of life and other equipment, mutual aid from surrounding communities, medical helicopters and putting our local hospitals on trauma alerts. Please be safe while traveling.”
