BY EARNEST WINSTON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
ERLANGER -- Police spent Tuesday interviewing witnesses and reconstructing a Monday accident on Interstate 275 that killed two Ohio men.
The victims, who had been in a red Ford pickup truck that was towing a boat, were identified Tuesday as David Martin, 41, of Mason, and Timothy Harper, 43, of West Chester.
As they were checking a flat tire on the boat trailer, they were struck by a truck driven by Morris Alexander, 44, of Lexington, Ky., who was not injured. He was questioned by police and released, said Erlanger police spokesman Lt. Col. Jeff Kennedy. Mr. Alexander works for Hazard Express Trucking Co. in Lexington.
Mr. Martin and Mr. Harper were on eastbound Interstate 275 at the I-71/75 interchange when the trailer rig struck them in the emergency lane.
The accident occurred at 3:20 p.m. The investigation is continuing, Lt. Col. Kennedy said, and charges could be filed later.
The trailer was inspected by officials from the Kentucky Division of Motor Vehicles.
It was not known where the victims were traveling.
After realizing that the two men were injured, police said, the driver of the semi trailer went back to help.
It was unclear whether the driver of the trailer crossed the thick white line that separates the road from the emergency lane, police said.
Police did not find a jack or a spare tire on the road, which indicates the men had not begun to change the flat. Police said they found one body between the pickup and the boat and the other beneath the pickup.
"My recommendation is, don't work on your car on the interstate," said Lt. Col. Kennedy. He said motorists should use cellular phones to call police or, if possible, leave the highway before checking their vehicles.
