One man is dead and another may face charges in connection with a deadly drag racing accident early Wednesday morning in Clermont County.
The accident happened just before 12:30 a.m. along
Newtonsville Road, just north of Ohio Route 727, in Wayne Township.
Twenty-two-year old Mitchell Woodruff of Loveland died in what the Ohio Highway Patrol says was very likely an overnight illegal drag race between several cars.
Woodruff was thrown out of rear window of a 1992 Honda Civic when it hit a ditch and overturned.
Several friends of Woodruff arrived on the scene Wednesday to remember him and see where he lost his life. They hugged one another and left flowers where there is still debris from the deadly crash.
About a quarter mile from the accident scene are red chalk lines in the roadway marked start and finish. A second set of roadway chalk signs are also on Newtonsville Road, about 1/5 of a mile further south.
The Highway Patrol says 21-year old Dustin Purcell was driving the Civic when the deadly accident occurred. He and another passenger, 23-year old Christopher Spiraling, both of Loveland, were taken to Bethesda North Hospital. The hospital has not released their conditions or the extent of their injuries.
A neighbor living just down the road heard what sounded to her, like the start of a drag race. Rachel Carrair tells 9News, "We heard what sounded like two or three cars. We looked down the road and heard their engines revving. Then a few minutes later, we heard a loud crash. We looked out and saw some of the cars slowing down. Then we could see one of them was in the ditch."
Carrair says in the three weeks since she moved to Newtonsville Road, she has seen more people driving too fast rather than obeying the speed limit.
The Highway Patrol says it may charge one of the other drivers. Reportedly, he is already in custody and at least facing a drunk driving charge.
Stay with 9News and WCPO.com for the latest on this story.
