Crashes kill 2 in northwest Ohio, southeast Michigan

NEY, Ohio - Icy road conditions in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan were blamed for the deaths of two motorists early Saturday.

Joyce Herr, 81, Defiance was declared dead at the scene of the 6:50 a.m. crash on State Rt. 15 just north of Flickinger Road in Defiance County's Washington Township, troopers at the Ohio Highway Patrol's Defiance post said.

In Hillsdale County, a Michigan man was killed when his car went out of control and slid sideways into the path of an oncoming vehicle.

And in Monroe County, a Tennessee woman and her two children were injured when their van slid on snowy pavement and hit a guard rail, then was struck by a semi after stopping in the path of other traffic, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office said.

A witness told troopers investigating the Ney-area crash that Ms. Herr's Plymouth Voyager van was northbound on Route 15 when it fishtailed, then slid off the right side of the highway and struck a ditch and a utility pole.

It then began rolling, ejecting the driver on the second roll and rolling over her on the third.

The highway patrol's report said Ms. Herr was not wearing a seat belt.

Hillsdale County sheriff's deputies said Donald Scott Linton, 40, of Hanover, Mich., was northbound on Homer Road north of Sterling Road in Scipio Township at about 11 a.m.

His vehicle was struck by the southbound vehicle of Mariah Lee Collins, 25, of Reading, Mich., who was taken to Hillsdale Community Health Center and transferred to Toledo Hospital, where she was in serious condition ast night.

In the 1-75 crash, Catherine R. Miller, 39, of Clarksville, Tenn., was northbound just before 5 a.m. when she lost control north of Nadeau Road in Frenchtown Township, the sheriff's office said.

Ms. Miller's van struck the center guard rail and deflected back into the freeway's travel lanes, where it became disabled.

According to the sheriff's office, the vehicle was then struck by a northbound tractor-trailer driven by Santokh S. Sandhu, 47, of Brampton, Ont.

After the semi's impact, both vehicles came to rest along the median, authorities said.

Ms. Miller and her two young children were taken to Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center.

Authorities said Ms. Miller was listed in stable condition, while her 10-year-old son was in critical condition and her 11-year-old daughter was in serious condition.

Mr. Sanduh and his passenger, Amrinder Hayer, 28, also of Brampton, were not injured in the crash.

The crashes remained under investigation.

Slippery road conditions were reported throughout northwest Ohio yesterday morning, with light snow having followed a glaze of mixed precipitation in many areas overnight.

Numerous other minor crashes were reported.