A semitrailer hauling boxed dehumidifiers rolled over on Ohio 2 in Carroll Township on Friday morning, November 13, shutting down both directions of the highway for several hours, the Port Clinton News Herald reported.
The crash of the 2027 Freightliner happened at about 6:28 a.m. on Ohio 2 near Lemon Road, and Ohio 2 was completely closed between Ohio 590 and Ohio 19 because of the crash, according to the Port Clinton News Herald. The highway was not officially reopened until about 2:30 p.m.
The Freightliner was traveling east on Ohio 2 when it drove off the right side of the road, struck a ditch and a tree, and turned over on its side, the News Herald reported. No other vehicles were involved.
The long closure was a cargo problem as much as a crash problem: the road stayed shut for so long because of the unloading, and then reloading, of the boxed dehumidifiers into another vehicle, according to the Port Clinton News Herald.
The driver, Kimba Abdouramaue, 25, of North Carolina, had minor injuries and was not taken to a hospital, the News Herald reported. He was cited for operating a vehicle without reasonable control.
The Sandusky post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol responded and is investigating, according to the Port Clinton News Herald. The Carroll Township Police Department and its fire and EMS departments assisted the Highway Patrol, and the Ohio Department of Transportation assisted in closing the roadway.
By the clock the Port Clinton News Herald reported, the closure stretched roughly eight hours — from the 6:28 a.m. crash to the approximately 2:30 p.m. reopening — spanning the morning commute, the school day’s start and most of the workday for anyone whose route runs along the lakeshore highway through Carroll Township.
For drivers in Ottawa County, the shutdown cut the main east-west route along the Lake Erie shore between Ohio 590 and Ohio 19 for most of the school and work day. With the highway reopened as of Friday afternoon, the remaining step is the Highway Patrol’s investigation — NewsForce247 will note any further findings the patrol releases.