Wreck injures 3, reroutes I-75 traffic

A car crashed into a boom lift along Interstate 75 early Saturday, sending three people to University Hospital and causing Cincinnati police to reroute traffic for more than six hours.

Joshua Montgomery, 23, of Colerain Township was in critical condition hours later while the other two - boom lift operator Robert Cheatham, 42, of Dillsboro, Ind., and driver Scott Carpenter, 21, of Springfield Township - were treated and released.

Cheatham was attempting to maneuver the boom lift across the northbound traffic lanes of a construction zone when Carpenter's vehicle crashed into him at 3:21 a.m.

Police closed the northbound lanes from 3:26 a.m. until about 9:45 a.m., according to ARTIMIS.

2-vehicle collision sends 3 to hospitals

SYCAMORE TWP. - Three men were transported to hospitals after they were injured late Friday in a two-car crash along Interstate 71, near the Ronald Reagan Highway interchange.

Hamilton County Sheriff's deputies said Rasheed Simmonds, 34, of Cincinnati, was driving south in the middle lane when he lost control of his 2002 Ford Taurus at 10:40 p.m. and struck a 1999 Oldsmobile Intrigue, driven by Donald Williams, 36, of Cincinnati.

Upon impact, Mr. Simmonds' vehicle veered off the highway and crashed into a guardrail. Mr. Williams maintained control of his car and pulled to the left emergency lane, deputies said.

He and his passenger, Jermaine Gamble, 25, of Cincinnati, were taken to Jewish Hospital, Kenwood, by Deer Park life squad. They were treated and released.

Mr. Simmonds was transported by helicopter to University Hospital, where police said he was in stable condition.

Unlike the other two, he was not wearing a seat belt

Walnut Hills man indicted in murder

A Hamilton County jury on Friday indicted a Walnut Hills man on an aggravated murder charge in connection with the February 2002 death of Terrell Cannon.

Antwon Parker, 21, is accused of shooting Cannon, 23, also of Walnut Hills, after an altercation on a basketball court in their neighborhood.

Cannon staggered from the Kemper Lane court to William Howard Taft Road and fell dead on the sidewalk outside an auto transmission repair shop, according to police reports.

Cannon had been shot in the neck.

OSU chairman pushes cuts, not rate increase

COLUMBUS - The chairman of Ohio State University's board of trustees said the school should make cuts and look for other ways to raise money rather than raise tuition beyond levels proposed.

The university would lose $8 million in state funding if the Legislature approves Gov. Bob Taft's proposed 2.5 percent budget cut for public universities.

When asked Friday how the university would handle an $8 million loss, trustees Chairman James Patterson said, "I think it has to be cuts. A tuition increase, for me personally, is not an option."

- Compiled from staff and wire reports