A Hocking County man died at a hospital after a fiery head-on crash in Pickaway County, according to the Pickaway County Sheriff's Office.
Just after 6:30 a.m. Sept. 4, the sheriff's office received a call reporting a traffic crash on State Route 104, just north of Commercial Point Road in Jackson Township, the sheriff's office said. Callers told the sheriff's office that it was a two-vehicle crash and that one of the vehicles was possibly on fire.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol and sheriff's deputies arrived on scene and discovered that the collision was a head-on crash that caused one of the vehicles to catch fire, but it was extinguished before they got there, according to the sheriff's office.
The investigation revealed that James Terry III,
40, of Laurelville, was driving a 2009 Nissan Versa subcompact car southbound on Route 104, just north of Commercial Point Road. At the same time, Donald Smith, 41, of Williamsport in Pickaway County, was driving a 2016 Ford F-150 pickup northbound on Route 104.
According to the sheriff's office, Terry drifted left of center and struck the Ford F-50 head-on. Both drivers had to be extricated from their vehicles, the sheriff's office said. Both drivers were transported to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center in downtown Columbus. Terry died at the hospital a short time later from his injuries, the sheriff's office said.
The sheriff's office did not say how badly Smith was injured or what condition he was transported in. The crash remains under investigation by the sheriff's office.
Reporter Shahid Meighan can be reached at smeighan@dispatch.com, at ShahidMeighan on X, and at shahidthereporter.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: One driver dead, another injured in fiery head-on crash in Pickaway County
