BUTLER COUNTY, Ohio — A woman who died in a crash this week is being remembered as a good-hearted, genuine person who was a product of the Butler County agricultural community.
Christine Rhoads-Larsen, 44, of Milford Twp., was “a great, great person,” according to Andy Korb, of Oxford, who said he had known her since their youth when both were in 4-H together.
“(She was) … just an absolute salt-of the-earth individual, and it just … this one hurts,” Korb said. “She cared about everybody else, and at the end of the day, that was her priority.”
Rhoads-Larsen, the owner of Itty Bitty Goat Boutique, was heading back to the Butler County Fair to be with her family around 7:30 p.m on July 28, when the crash occurred, he said. She was driving a 2023 Buick Enclave east on U.S. 127 when a 2009 Toyota Camry traveling south on Hamilton Eaton Road failed to yield and collided with the driver’s side of the Enclave SUV, according to a traffic crash report.
The crash caused the Enclave to swing sideways into the westbound lanes of 127, where it was struck in its passenger side by a 2020 Ford F-250, according to the report.
Both vehicles went off the north side of the roadway.
Rhoads-Larsen was unresponsive when medics arrived, according to Butler County Sheriff’s Office. She died from head and neck blunt-force trauma, according to a report from Butler County Coroner’s Office.
A driver and passenger in the F-250 sustained minor injuries and were taken to UC West Chester Hospital, according to the sheriff’s office. The driver of the Camry was evaluated at the scene and was uninjured.
The Butler County Serious Traffic Accident Reconstruction Team is investigating the crash, BCSO said.
Korb said Rhoads-Larsen was not a loud or flashy person, but she was “somebody that had a lot of meaning.”
“She was the one that was behind the scenes and the one that really had a genuine heart and cared about everybody that she was involved with to the infinite degree,” he said. “That's the thing that people need to remember her by is just how good-hearted and how genuine she was as a human being.”
Korb said Rhoads-Larsen, whose two children also showed animals at the fair, was “a product of the Butler County agricultural community.”
“One of the things that she really focused on was if there was kids that needed help or there was young people that needed some direction, she was absolutely 100% willing to give back to that,” he said. “She came from it and she gave back to it, and it wasn't just here (at the fair), but her daughter played competitive volleyball and she supported anyone she came in contact with, and that's what makes this hard because she was one of the good ones .”
Korb said he is organizing a fund for Rhoads-Larsen’s children. For details, write to andy.korb@theyardsoh.com.
“Nothing's going to correct any of what just happened, but hopefully, (it will create) somewhat of an opportunity for these young people in the future,” he said.
