WOOD COUNTY, Ohio — Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect the latest information made available by the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
A semi crash early Friday caused a major traffic backup along I-75 in Wood County.
This happened at approximately 1:45 a.m. near the Buck Road exit. The semi truck carrying an oversized load was too tall and struck the bottom of the overpass at Lime City Road.
The driver, Lavoris Ruth, 43, of Miami Gardens, Florida had no permit to be carrying an overhead load, which ultimately hit the bridge and caused the damage. In a press release, Ohio State Highway Patrol authorities said the load of the truck, which was the base of an intermodal container crane, struck the overpass while Ruth was traveling northbound.
OSHP Sgt. Ryan Purpura said this was the worst overpass crash he has seen in his 18-year tenure as a state trooper.
According to authorities, Ruth did not stop after the accident. A witness who was initially struck by debris followed Ruth and reported his location to law enforcement. OSHP said Ruth stopped his vehicle at an area east of I-75 near the Ampoint complex.
Ruth was cited for having no license, being over dimensional and leaving the scene of an accident. He was arrested and cleared at a local hospital before authorities incarcerated him at the Wood County Jail.
Purpura said the citations are misdemeanors that can bring up to 6 months in jail; however, he said that's not what matters most.
"More importantly no one was seriously injured," Purpura said. "This easily could've resulted in a fatality."
OSHP said several vehicles struck the debris caused by the initial crash and an additional motorist was injured when he fell outside his vehicle.
ODOT District 2 public information officer Kelsie Hoagland said overpass crashes are uncommon because oversized loads are supposed to have permits and are rerouted to avoid these potential collisions.
Hoagland said there will still need to be more repairs in the future once the northbound lanes do open up. The Lime City Road overpass itself may not be open for months and may be up to $400,000 to repair.
"We have to go through our traditional bid process to find a contractor who is able to make those repairs, so that is probably going to be weeks or months down the road," Hoagland said.
These damages have caused all northbound lanes to close temporarily as ODOT and crews work to clean up the debris. The southbound lanes were not affected.
A detour is accessible at SR 795 EB to I-280 NB to I-75. Hoagland said crews hope to have two lanes back open between midnight and early morning hours by cutting the damaged part off.
ODOT District 2 Deputy Director Pat McColley says crews are working with a contractor to deconstruct a portion of the bridge deck and beams damaged in the crash.
"I-75 is one of the busiest freight routes in the country and we are working hard to get traffic moving again as soon as possible, but we will not sacrifice safety for convenience," says McColley. "Please continue to avoid the area, use alternate routes and be patient as we work to repair the damage done in this crash."
Lieutenant Schwochow with Ohio State Highway Patrol spoke to WTOL 11 at the scene.
"75 northbound right here will probably be closed at least for the day," Lt. Schwochow said. "They (ODOT) will update throughout the day to let us know when we can get it back open and get cars back through."
Damages could be seen to the top of the roof of the semi trailer, as well as along the highway as debris from the accident scattered the roadways.
"There is still debris from the load that struck the bridge, it's just north of it up here," Lt. Schwochow explained. "There was cement from the bridge all over the roads so it was a pretty messy scene."
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