The fourth student, a female, remains at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
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INITIAL REPORT
The father of a Monroe High School student injured with three other students Friday night in a crash minutes before prom said the accident shows how “precious life can be.”
Bishop Mitchell Foster Sr., executive director of Hope House, a homeless shelter in Middletown, said his son, Mitchell Foster Jr., 18, a senior at Monroe, was a front-seat passenger in a car that flipped around 7:30 p.m. Friday on Millikin Road near Butler-Warren Road as four Monroe students were headed to prom. His son was trapped and extricated out of the vehicle, Foster said.
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Foster drove to University Cincinnati Medical Center — where his son and two other Monroe students — Sunday afternoon after leading a church service where a friend was baptized. He said his family and friends have been at his son’s bedside around the clock.
Foster was called Friday night and told his son was one of four high school students injured. One student has been released from the hospital, and three others are still being treated, said Phil Cagwin, district superintendent. One student, a 17-year-old female, suffered life-threatening injuries, according to Lt. Morgan Dallman, commander of the Liberty Twp. post of the Butler County Sheriff’s Office.
In a letter to Monroe families, Cagwin said people are being discouraged from visiting the three students in the hospital.
Instead, he wrote, families of those injured have asked if people would like to donate food gift cards that would be “appreciated.” People can deliver the gift cards to the high school office between 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, he said.
He also wrote that “a support team” assembled by school counselors and administrators will be available for students to provide support today through the week if needed. Parents who feel their child may need extra support, can contact the office by calling 513-539-8471 after 7 a.m. today.
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A 17-year-old female student was driving when her vehicle veered off the right side of the road in the eastbound lane, over-corrected and went off the left side of the road, Dallman said. Another 17-year old male, sitting in the back seat, was also hurt.
Dallman said speed could be a factor in the crash. The posted speed limit is 45 mph.
When Foster was told about the accident, he was “shocked” because that’s “no news a parent wants to hear.”
The accident, Foster said, is another example of a lesson he often preaches: “Life can be taken away just that quick. One minute you’re all happy, and the next, it’s the worst day of your life.”
His son plans to attend Ohio State University next fall, Foster said.
“I’m grateful to God that my son is still alive,” he said.
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