COLUMBIANA, Ohio (WKBN) – A driver pleaded not guilty in Columbiana County Municipal Court Thursday following an accident at the Columbiana Circle roundabout.
Christopher D. Reynolds, 34, has been charged with OVI, failure to control, and obstructing official business. His bond was set at $2,000.
Officials say around 3:30 a.m. a tractor-trailer drove into law offices on 11 South Main St.
Fire Chief Frank Nulf said Reynolds was driving a semi when he crashed into the circle’s curb, went airborne, landed and rolled into Roth Blair law offices on South Main Street. The accident left significant damage to the circle and the law office.
Columbiana Police Chief William Myers said Reynolds was treated for minor injuries at the scene and no one was taken to the hospital.
The roundabout was blocked from Park Avenue to 20 North Main St. but has since reopened. Ohio State Highway Patrol arrived on scene before the truck and truck bed were towed. After crews cleared the area, South Main Street reopened, but the sidewalk and parking area are closed around the building.
Nulf said a portion of Main Street will be closed until crews are able to secure the building and shut off utilities.
Reynolds was arrested and booked into the Columbiana County Jail.
Nulf said it’s not the first time the center of the roundabout has been damaged in an accident.
“The crew they have is very used to making repairs to it. This happens often down here, so it would be nothing new for them,” said Nulf.
David Barbee is the resident partner at the Roth Blair office in Columbiana. The office is tucked away by its neighboring building from the roundabout.
Barbee said he was shocked to get the call Wednesday morning that their building was destroyed.
“I’m like, ‘How can my building be damaged from an accident in the Square?'” he said. “This was a pretty violent collision that occurred.”
Nulf said the crash was so powerful that it moved the building slightly.
Reynolds’s pretrial is set for August 29 at 1 p.m. with Judge Katelyn Dickey.
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Johnny Chechitelli contributed to this report.