DAYTON — Thursday is the busiest day of the Fourth of July holiday weekend and it’s already off to a rough start.
>>UPDATE: Man killed in crash involving tanker truck in Harrison Twp.
Interstate 75 was slow north of Dayton for several hours Thursday morning due to an accident. There was also a fatal crash that shut down traffic on Needmore Road and Webster Street east of I-75 for much of Thursday in Harrison Township.
Witness told Campbell flames and smoke surrounded the vehicles.
“Unfortunately, this is another fatal one,” Heather Holland said to News Center 7′s Mike Campbell Thursday. The clean-up efforts on Needmore Road took much of Thursday after a box truck slammed into a tanker truck loaded with corn syrup, knocking the tanker onto its side.
“When we smelled smoke, we had to shut things down to make sure it wasn’t inside,” Rob Tobin said. “Just hope the semi driver is ok.”
Montgomery County deputies are investigating to see if speed or traffic violations played a role in the crash.
>>PHOTOS: Coroner called to semi crash in Harrison Twp.
State troopers say there is too much dangerous driving across Montgomery County and the Miami Valley. It’s why they launched the Dayton Service Initiative last year to cut back on risky road behavior.
“Obviously, the excessive speed, erratic lane changes, really people that are driving aggressively in general,” said Lt. Dallas Root, OSHP, Dayton Post Commander.
>>Dayton Service Initiative Enforcement plans upcoming patrols for today
The number of total crashes in Montgomery County is down 13 percent for the first six months of 2022 compared to last year, according to the Ohio Department of Public Safety. The number of people dying in crashes has decreased by 23 percent in that same time frame.
“That is a person’s life that is lost,” Root said. “That is a family that is grieving.”
Deputies also had problems at the site of the fatal crash reportedly trying to convince drivers to obey traffic orders and road closed directions.
>>Several Miami Valley law enforcement agencies will be out for the Fourth of July weekend
There is expected to be heavy traffic on the roads Friday and then again on Sunday for return trips home for the Fourth of July weekend.