Two people died in a recent Ohio accident when the car they were driving in was hit by a teenage driver who ran a red light. While all deaths in car accidents are tragedies, this one is especially difficult because the teen who caused the fatal accident had been in another accident just an hour before — but wasn’t apprehended or otherwise cited for that accident.

The destruction started that day with a hit-and-run collision that resulted in property damage. The teen driver allegedly caused that car accident, but then fled the scene. An hour later, the same teenager ran a red light just a few miles away and caused the accident that resulted in the two deaths.

The 19-year-old Ohio man at the center of both collisions told police that he was impaired due to huffing — breathing in fumes or vapors in order to get high. He told the police that he didn’t remember either incident.
In the fatal accident, the teenage driver sped through a red light and smashed into a Pontiac that resulted in the death of the male driver along with his female passenger. The driver of the Pontiac died at the scene, while the passenger was declared dead at a nearby hospital.

In addition, the young driver’s juvenile passenger received medical care for non-life-threatening injuries at a nearby medical facility.

Because of the young driver’s apparently reckless behavior, two people are now dead and he faces several charges including aggravated vehicular homicide and driving under the influence.

Car accidents happen every day. Some are caused by bad conditions on a rainy road; others are self-inflicted by distracted driving, speeding or impaired driving. In this case, the families of those killed and the person driving the car from the hit-and-run accident are now facing the task of rebuilding their lives in the aftermath of these separate but related incidents.

Source: WXIX-TV, “Man, 19, charged in fatal Middletown crash appears in court,” July 1, 2013