CINCINNATI -- A West Chester Township man has been charged with OVI and improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle after police say his erratic driving forced a 45-minute shutdown of southbound I-75 Monday evening.
Around 8:30 p.m. Monday, officers responded to the Mitchell Avenue exit off southbound I-75 where 56-year-old Leroy Laycock had crashed his red Dodge pickup truck against the construction barricades.
Police reports state Laycock was unresponsive in the driver’s seat with the engine running as a fire broke out on the passenger side of the truck. Medics told officers that Haycock was “highly intoxicated” with the odor of alcohol on his breath and slurred speech once he was pulled from the truck.
He was taken to University of Cincinnati Medical Center's emergency room to be treated for minor injuries.
The highway was closed from 8:30 to 9:12 p.m. as police investigated. Witnesses told police they had followed Laycock from I-275 and that he had been weaving in and out of traffic, striking construction barricades and barrels on both sides of the highway in the process.
A silver Ruger handgun, 15 rounds and a laser sight were recovered from Laycock’s vehicle. Laycock will appear in court Wednesday morning.
