Teen killed in crash 5 others injured in Woodville Township

9/28/2006
  • Teen-killed-in-crash-5-others-injured-in-Woodville-Township-2

    Linda Young hugs son Dakota, a junior at Woodmore High School, as they grieve the loss of Todd Hatch, also a Woodmore junior.

  • Rescue workers assist two of the teenagers who were injured in the crash near Woodville.
    Rescue workers assist two of the teenagers who were injured in the crash near Woodville.

    WOODVILLE - A 16-year-old boy was killed and five others were hurt yesterday in a single-vehicle accident on State Rt. 105 just south of Martin-Williston Road in Sandusky County's Woodville Township, the Ohio Highway Patrol said.

    Todd Hatch of Elmore was pronounced dead at the scene, troopers at the patrol's Fremont post said.

    Mr. Hatch was in a car being driven northeast on Route 105 about 3:35 p.m. by Courtney Bigelow, 16, of Elmore, when she lost control around a curve and went off the east side of the road hitting a tree, troopers said. The car spun around, hit an unoccupied vehicle in a private drive, and spun again, striking an unoccupied camping trailer just east of the private drive, troopers said.

    Miss Bigelow and a passenger, Kaitlyn Diehl, 16, of Elmore, were taken to Fremont Memorial Hospital with nonlife threatening injuries, troopers said. Their conditions were not available last night, a hospital spokesman said.

    Linda Young hugs son Dakota, a junior at Woodmore High School, as they grieve the loss of Todd Hatch, also a Woodmore junior.
    Linda Young hugs son Dakota, a junior at Woodmore High School, as they grieve the loss of Todd Hatch, also a Woodmore junior.

    Other passengers in the vehicle were Tamara Trolio, 17, of Elmore, who was treated at St. Charles Mercy Hospital, and Nicholas Goff, of Rocky Ridge, Ohio, and Teresa Rios, 16, of Elmore, who were flown to St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center, Toledo, where they were both in the pediatric intensive care unit last night, a hospital spokesman said.

    Mr. Hatch was a junior at Woodmore High School who was taking auto service courses at Penta Career Center, said his good friend, Dakota Young, 17, also a junior at Woodmore.

    "He was a great friend to have," Mr. Young said. "He was a jokester and he made people laugh."

    Mr. Hatch played guitar in a local band and he wanted to make something of himself through his music, Mr. Young said.

    "He was a really talented artist," he said.

    Mr. Young said he saw Mr. Hatch get off the bus with other students from Penta and get into a car with a group of their friends. Shortly after, he saw Miss Bigelow's car off the road and knew his friend was hurt.

    "We were one of the first people to show up there," he said. "After what seemed like forever, they started taking people out of the car."

    Woodmore Local Schools Superintendent Jane Garling said five of the teens involved in the crash were Woodmore High School students who took classes at the Penta Career Center. Mr. Hoff is an Oak Harbor High School student who also took classes at the career center in Perrysburg Township.

    When the district heard about the accident yesterday, students who were at Woodmore High School for sports practices and other extracurricular activities were sent home and told to drive carefully, Ms. Garling said.

    Ministers, counselors, and Ohio Highway Patrol officials will be at the high school today to provide counseling to students, Ms. Garling said. The superintendent said it was a tragic situation for the community and that the patrol was very helpful working with the district.