Saturday, February 26, 2000
Man dies in wrong-way crash on I-75
Area's fifth fatality in seven days
BY MARIE McCAIN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Investigators may never know what prompted Vincent Halloran to drive his Ford Probe the wrong way onto one of the Tristate's most heavily traveled interstates Friday.
The 53-year-old Western Hills man died in surgery at University Hospital shortly before 6 p.m. It was nearly six hours after his car collided head-on with two southbound vehicles in the high-speed lane of Interstate 75.
The roadway had to be closed for more than four hours as emergency workers pried Mr. Halloran from the wreckage of his car and traffic investigators attempted to re-create the accident.
The drivers of the two southbound vehicles, William Wiethorn, 42, of Monfort Heights and Theresia Wilson, 45, of Maineville, suffered minor injuries and were treated at area hospitals and released.
Police suspect Mr. Halloran drove his car the wrong way, heading northbound from the Fifth Street exit ramp onto the southbound roadway. The accident occurred between the Linn Street and Seventh Street overpasses.
Exactly where he had been before that is a mystery, Cincinnati Police Traffic Unit Sgt. Bill Coombs said.
“We don't know if he came across Fort Washington Way or whether he came from the Kentucky exit and then turned onto the Fifth Street exit,” he said. “We are investigating whether the cause was alcohol-related,” he added.
Shortly after the noontime collision, workers at ARTIMIS, the Greater Cincinnati area's traffic watch system, scrambled to divert motorists on all of the area interstates.
Via the large overhead message boards, drivers heading south on I-75 were directed to use the Norwood Lateral to southbound I-71 to get to Kentucky, while others traveling on I-275 were directed to follow that roadway into Kentucky if they wanted to get to the airport.
Drivers on I-74 also were alerted to the accident, while those on southbound I-71 were warned to expect congestion because of the influx from I-75.
“Considering that rush hour on Friday usually begins between 2:30 p.m. and 3 p.m., and none of the backups were more than four miles out, I think we did pretty good,” said David Leonard, an operations supervisor for ARTIMIS.
Southbound I-71 delays reached just south of Taft Road. Normal rush hour delays usually start at Reading Road, a mile closer to the river.
Continuous radio broadcasts were also made on 530 AM and on ARTIMIS' phone line, 211.
“It appeared as though people were reading the signs and taking our suggestions,” Mr. Leonard said.
Police couldn't say how fast Mr. Halloran may have been traveling. The collision significantly damaged all three cars.
Sgt. Coombs said he felt like he was “in a war zone.”
Friday's accident was the fifth traffic fatality in Cincinnati in seven days.
On Feb. 18, a driver was killed after his car crossed the center lane at 5370 Winton Road in Winton Place. The next day, a pedestrian was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver at 6215 Banning Road, in Mount Airy. That same day a woman was killed when she lost control of her car at 2981 Highland Ave., Kennedy Heights.
And on Feb. 20, a passenger was killedwhen the car struck a pole at 4650 Colerain Ave., Northside.
“This is the most I've seen, and it's all over the city,” Sgt. Coombs said. “We look for patterns, but in these cases there is no common thread.”
Investigators are still looking for information that will help them identify the driver at the hit-and-run accident on Banning Road.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the traffic unit at 352-2514.
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