MOUNT GILEAD — A 57-year-old Cleveland man was killed Sunday when he was ejected from a car during a four-vehicle crash on Interstate 71 in Morrow County.
According to the Mount Gilead Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the crash occurred at approximately 3:57 p.m. just north of mile post 156 in Morrow County’s Perry Township.
Marlon D. Barnes, 48, of Cleveland, was driving a 2017 Buick Encore northbound on Interstate 71. Dean Yankula, 26, of Hilliard, Ohio, was driving a 2019 Kenworth T680 tractor-trailer, also northbound on Interstate 71.
Trooper said Barnes drove off the left side of the roadway, struck the cable barrier in the median, returned to the road and collided with Yankula’s truck. The Buick spun in the road and struck a guardrail off the right side of the road. James L. Woods, age 57, of Cleveland, was ejected from Barnes’ vehicle.
Pamela J. Hanline, 45, of Sunbury, Ohio, was driving a 2017 Honda Civic and Mohamed Al Damen, 44, of Columbus, Ohio, was driving a 2014 Honda Odyssey. Both vehicles were northbound on Interstate 71 and were struck by debris.
Woods was pronounced dead at the scene, troopers said. Barnes and his other passenger, Neyda M. Barnes, 54, of Cleveland, were both transported to the Ohio Health Mansfield Hospital for minor injuries. Yankula was not injured. Hanline reported minor injuries, but refused medical treatment at the scene. Damen, and his passenger Aldem Abdelwahab, 53, of Columbus, were not injured.
Mr. Woods was not wearing a seatbelt, troopers said. All other occupants were wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash. Alcohol and drugs are not suspected factors in the crash.
The Mount Gilead Post was assisted on scene by the Ohio Department of Transportation, Morrow County EMS, Morrow County Coroner’s Office, and Johnsville Fire Department.
This crash remains under investigation by the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
