KNOX COUNTY — Three men from the Netherlands were killed and four other people injured Tuesday afternoon during a two-vehicle collision in Knox County, according to the Mount Gilead Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
The crash occurred around 12:33 p.m. at the intersection of Ohio 13 and Yankee Street in Berlin Township, about four miles north of Fredericktown in Berlin Township.
Troopers said Gijs M. Opdam, 48, of the Netherlands, was driving a Ford T350 Transit van westbound on Yankee Street when he failed to yield at a stop sign.
The van was struck in the intersection by a northbound Kenworth T680 tractor-trailer driven by James S. Cline, 51, of Mount Vernon.
Three of the seven people in the van died at the scene. Authorities identified the victims as Arno Kramer, 55, Martijn E. Van Vooren, 44, and Hermanus J. Fortuin, 55, all of the Netherlands.
Opdam and three remaining passengers in the van were transported to local hospitals with injuries. The patrol did not specify their conditions.
Multiple agencies assisted state troopers at the scene, including the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, Fredericktown Fire/EMS, the Mount Vernon Fire Department, the Knox County Coroner’s Office and the Ohio Department of Transportation.
The highway patrol said the crash remains under investigation.
