MONROE — A pair of twin 4-year-old girls from Georgia and their mother were killed on Interstate 75 on Monday afternoon — on a stretch notorious for recent median crossover fatalities.

The Hinkles car is loaded onto a flatbed truck. (Michael Snyder photo) | ZOOM |

        Nancy Hinkle, 48, and her daughters, Emily and Elizabeth, of Peachtree City, Ga., were pronounced dead at the scene of a three-vehicle crash in the southbound lanes just north of Ohio 63. The wreck, which happened during a downpour, tied up traffic for at least three hours.

        Mrs. Hinkle's husband, Gary, 49, was undergoing surgery at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton on Monday night.

        The driver whose vehicle crossed the median, Jerrad Rushlow, 19, of Newport, Mich., was expected to be treated and released. A third driver, David Bird, 42, of Ontario, Canada, was uninjured.

        Including the latest fatalities, 10 people have been killed since November along a nine-mile stretch of I-75 in Butler and Warren counties. In each case, drivers crossed the grassy median into oncoming traffic.

        The problem zone is between Ohio 123 (Franklin exit) and a rest area about two miles south of Ohio 63. About seven miles of that stretch are in Warren County and about two miles are in Butler County. It was the focus of a stepped-up Ohio State Highway Patrol enforcement effort that ended in mid-April.

        About 2 p.m. Monday, Mr. Rushlow was driving a purple 1988 Ford Explorer northbound and “evidently lost control and crossed the median strip,” said Sgt. Bob Phillips of the patrol's Lebanon Post.

        No tire or vehicle defect was detected during the initial investigation. The cause, Sgt. Phillips said, “was probably driving a little too fast for a wet roadway.”

        Mr. Hinkle's black 1999 Buick Park Avenue struck the Explorer in the right passenger side. The Buick then slid in front of Mr. Bird's tractor-trailer, whose tire clipped the car, Sgt. Phillips said.

        Sgt. Phillips was unsure whether Mr. Rushlow was wearing a seat belt, but said everyone in the Buick was wearing one.

        Although the twins were sitting in appropriate child safety seats, both girls were thrown from their seats. One belt came loose. The other appeared to have been improperly buckled, the patrol said.

        The twins had been watching a children's video that teaches youngsters how to count, Sgt. Phillips said.

        Investigators think the Hinkle family was homeward-bound for Georgia after attending a Dayton-area graduation ceremony, whose program booklet was found in the Buick.

        Mr. Rushlow had been attending a convention in Kentucky with family members who traveled in a separate vehicle. They were apparently heading back to Michigan when they noticed that Mr. Rushlow had dropped from sight. They doubled back and saw the crash's aftermath, Sgt. Phillips said.

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