Man killed, two injured in wrong-way crash on I-75

3/16/2009

CYGNET, Ohio A 78-year-old Deshler, Ohio, man was killed Monday and a Michigan pair were seriously hurt when the man drove his pick-up truck the wrong way on I-75 near the Cygnet Road ramp and collided head-on with their car, the Ohio Highway Patrol said.

Marvin R. Fintel, who shortly before 1:45 p.m. entered the highway's northbound lanes from Cygnet Road traveling south in his Chevrolet truck, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Mr. Fintel drove a short distance on the highway before his truck struck a Cadillac driven by Susan K. Wenger, 61, of Baldwin, Mich., with Ernest Wenger, 62, in the front passenger seat, troopers at the patrol's Bowling Green post said.

Both were eventually flown to St. Vincent's Mercy Medical Center in Toledo, where their conditions where unavailable last night.

A third vehicle, a boom truck driven by Gregory S. Wyatt, 50, of Burlington, Ky., attempted to swerve away from Mr. Fintel's pickup but was struck along the driver's side when it passed, troopers said. Mr. Wyatt was not injured.

The highway's northbound lanes were closed to traffic for about 90 minutes.

The crash remains under investigation.

Cygnet is about 29 miles south of Toledo.