XENIA TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WDTN) – OSP identified the man who died in the triple car crash in Greene County Wednesday afternoon was Robert Beedle III, 65, of Wilmington.
According to a statement issued by the post, Beedle III, the driver of the Tahoe, was not wearing a seat belt and died at the scene. Robert Beedle Jr., 89, of Blanchester and Penny Beedle, 53, of Wilmington were passengers in the Tahoe. He was the right front passenger and suffered life-threatening injuries. He’s currently listed in critical condition. She was the rear middle passenger [unfastened] and suffered minor injuries.
The accident happened on U.S. 68 South near Spring Valley-Paintersville Road in Caesar Creek Twp. The initial call came in as a rollover crash around 4 p.m.
According to investigators, the at-fault driver, Salina Leist, 31, of Maineville, was behind the wheel of the blue Toyota. Leist went left of center on U.S. 68 and slammed head-on into the maroon Chevy Tahoe. A third vehicle, a black Ford F-150, then rear-ended the Tahoe causing it to travel off the road and flip over.
Leist was trapped in her car and had to be cut out by first responders. She was taken to Miami Valley Hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries.
“We don’t have any idea why the driver in the blue vehicle went left of center right now, but we do have investigators that are going to be talking to her,” Ohio State Highway Patrol Lt. Matt Schmenk said. “Obviously, it’s nothing that you know we like seeing. It’s nothing that you want to get used to seeing, you know, we do see it from time to time. Obviously, in Greene County we’ve had higher fatals than we had last year,” Schmenk said.
The accident shut down U.S. 68 in both directions for approximately three hours.
Investigators do not believe alcohol and drugs were not a factor. The crash remains under investigation.Keep checking WDTN.com for the latest news, weather and sports. To get alerts for breaking news, grab the FREE WDTN News App for iPhone or Android. You can also sign up for email alerts here.Don’t miss another post on Facebook or Twitter for all the latest breaking news
