Van crashes into Middletown funeral home during visitation

The driver of a van that crashed into a Middletown funeral home today has been charged with failure to control a vehicle, according to the State Highway Patrol.

Carl Dishman, of Middletown, was driving south on South Main Street when his van went off the right side of the street, hit a parked car and clipped a hearse before crashing at about 12:30 p.m. at Herr-Riggs Funeral Home at 210 S. Main St., said Trooper Christopher Creech of the Ohio Highway Patrol’s Hamilton post.

There was a funeral and visitation at the time of the crash, said John Herr Jr., co-owner of the funeral home.

“Thank God no one was hurt,” Herr said. “It could have been a 100 times worse.”

“The van just hit a car out front and came right up the lawn and up the steps,” said Herr-Riggs co-owner Lois Arnold told our news partner WCPO 9 On Your Side. “We felt the whole building shake.”

Two columns in the front of the building were knocked over when the 1993 Ford van struck the building. Herr said a city building inspector came and told him that there was no structural damage. Herr said the building, located in the South Main Street Historical District, only sustained cosmetic damage.

The funeral was postponed for about one hour while the scene was cleared.

Creech said Dishman was cited for failure to control.

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About the Author

Rick McCrabb