On Friday afternoon, a 1998 Nissan Maxima driven by a 17-year-old crashed on University Boulevard near John XXIII Elementary School after leaving the high school. The car went off the right side of the road, hit a utility pole, a guardrail, then flipped at least twice, before landing on its tires, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
All five people in the vehicle were transported to Atrium Medical Center, where they were treated and released with minor injuries, Cotter said. She said several of the students attended the boys basketball game later that night and all five were at school Monday.
All of the students were wearing their seat belts, said Sgt. Brian Bost from the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
“We’re so thankful the kids were not hurt worse,” Cotter said. After viewing photos from the accident scene, she said it was “just shocking” everyone survived.
The driver was cited for failure to control a vehicle, and a factor in the accident was “unsafe speed,” according to the report from the State Highway Patrol.
The driver told troopers at the scene he was driving 50 MPH in the marked 45 MPH speed limit. A trooper investigating the accident said the car was traveling “way, way, way faster” than the posted speed limit.
The vehicle’s speed at the time of the accident has not been determined, Bost said.
As the driver sped away from a light at the intersection of Breiel Boulevard and University Boulevard, his car was spotted by School Resource Officer Brandon Highley, according to Cotter.
Highley caught up to the vehicle right after the accident, she said.
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