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Woman dies in head-on collision

Crash occurred on U.S. 50 near Little Hocking

Photo by Evan Bevins Little Hocking and Belpre volunteer firefighters spray the burned-out cab of an empty gasoline tanker truck following a Wednesday afternoon accident on U.S. 50 near Federal Road at Little Hocking. The driver of the truck escaped uninjured, but the driver of the Nissan Sentra that collided with the vehicle was killed.

LITTLE HOCKING — A woman was pronounced dead at the scene after her vehicle was going the wrong way on U.S. 50 and collided with an empty gasoline tanker Wednesday.

The woman, whose name had not been released Wednesday night pending notification of her family, was traveling west in an eastbound lane of U.S. 50 near Federal Road in Little Hocking, said Lt. Chris Chesar, commander of the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Marietta post.

At the scene, Chesar said it was unclear why the driver of the Sentra was traveling the wrong way.

The crash happened after 1:30 p.m. Wednesday and closed both eastbound lanes of the road for a while, rerouting traffic down Gantsville Road. The Little Hocking, Belpre and Coolville volunteer fire departments responded, along with the patrol, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and ambulances from Camden Clark Medical Center.

Little Hocking Fire Chief Mike Chevalier said the driver of the truck, whose name had not been released Wednesday night, escaped uninjured. Flames consumed the vehicle’s cab and charred the end of the tanker closest to it.

Photo by Evan Bevins Little Hocking and Belpre volunteer firefighters spray the burned-out cab of an empty gasoline tanker truck following a Wednesday afternoon accident on U.S. 50 near Federal Road at Little Hocking. The driver of the truck escaped uninjured, but the driver of the Nissan Sentra that collided with the vehicle was killed.

“It could have been a whole lot worse if it was full of gasoline,” Chevalier said.

The tank did rupture, and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency was notified of the incident, Chevalier said, adding there did not appear to be any runoff.

Chesar said the driver of the truck was not at fault in the crash.

Photo by Evan Bevins An Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper investigates the scene of a fatal accident on U.S. 50 near Federal Road in Little Hocking Wednesday afternoon. The driver of the Nissan Sentra behind the trooper was pronounced dead at the scene.

Photo by Evan Bevins Ohio State Highway Patrol Lt. Chris Chesar, left, commander of the Marietta post, speaks with Little Hocking Volunteer Fire Chief Mike Chevalier, center, and another firefighter Wednesday afternoon on U.S. 50 near Little Hocking following a head-on collision between an empty gasoline tanker and a car that left one person dead.

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