2 injured in pileup on I-75 in Northwood

2/17/2010

Two people were injured and traffic was backed up for more than a mile on northbound I-75 after a car hit a snowdrift in the median in Northwood yesterday, causing a multivehicle pileup and a tractor-trailer rig rollover, authorities said.

Keith Logue, 19, of Toledo, the driver of the car that hit the snowdrift, suffered nonlife-threatening injuries, Northwood police Sgt. John Romstadt said. The other victim was the driver of the semi, which overturned after striking another semi that was slowing for traffic that was stopped because of the pileup. The man, whose name was not available, also was taken to an area hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries, Sergeant Romstadt said.

Mr. Logue was northbound in the passing lane between the Miami Street and Wales Road exits about 2:10 p.m. when he veered into the snowdrift. The car spun out of control and stopped facing south in the northbound lanes, causing a crash that involved five other vehicles.

Two other vehicles spun out as they approached the pileup, but each came to a stop without hitting anything, the sergeant said.

About 30 minutes later, two tractor-trailer rigs were slowing for stopped traffic at the Northwood-Rossford line, about a mile from the initial crash.

One struck the other in the rear and overturned, injuring the driver and spilling some of its load that looked like laundry detergent, the sergeant said.

Traffic on I-75 near the two crashes was limited to one lane in each direction until about3:45 p.m., when it returned to normal, police said.