COLUMBUS – Three men were killed and a teenager was critically injured early Sunday morning when the car they were riding in went out of control on a Northeast Side exit ramp and crashed into a building.
The four were driving southbound on I-71 in a 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt SS at an apparent high rate of speed when they exited the freeway at the Sinclair Road/Morse Road interchange at approximately 2:51 a.m. Sunday and failed to negotiate the curve on the exit ramp, according to Sgt. Brooke Wilson of the Accident Investigation Unit.
The car continued southwest into a recessed ditch, became airborne, and crashed into the National Tire and Battery shop at 4800 Sinclair Road, Wilson said.
Two of the occupants were ejected from the vehicle.
Luis Guzman, 19, 18-year-old Otoniel Alcauter and a man whose name was not released were pronounced dead at the scene, Wilson said.
Seventeen-year-old Carlos Guzman was taken to Riverside Methodist Hospital where Wilson says he was admitted in critical condition.
Police had not determined who was driving the car at the time of the accident, which is still under investigation, Wilson said.