TOLEDO, Ohio — The Ohio Department of Transportation has released video of the fiery crash that killed two people early Thursday on I-75 near Alexis Road. An ODOT camera captured the crash that happened when a car headed south in the northbound lanes collided head-on with oncoming traffic.
The incident began shortly after 12:30 a.m. when officers were pursuing a fleeing car that was headed north on I-75 near East Alexis Road. The fleeing car exited the northbound interstate just north of Alexis Road and then re-entered I-75 going south in the northbound lanes.
At that point, officers stopped pursuing the vehicle as it traveled the wrong way south in northbound lanes, police said.
The vehicle continued south, past Alexis Road, striking two semitrailers that were headed north, causing an explosive fire.
That vehicle involved in the pursuit was ripped into several parts, some of which were wrapped underneath the back of the semitrailers.
Both the driver and passenger in the fleeing car were ejected and sustained life-ending injuries, police said. Police have not identified them pending notification of their families, but have said that they were 39 and 42 years old.
The truck drivers -- Jason Butler, 24, of Bellville, Mich., and Jody Cicero, 50, of Monroe, Mich. -- both suffered minor injuries, police said.
The incident is the latest in a recent string of police pursuits that have ended in crashes. Since the beginning of the year, at least six other such incidents have happened locally.
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