COLUMBUS – An 18-year-old Columbus man was killed Wednesday night when his car struck a tractor-trailer head-on on U.S. route 42 in Union County.
Jose Sabillon-Lopez was not wearing a seat belt when his northbound Toyota Corolla crossed the center line into the southbound lane near Bell Road in Jerome Township and was struck by the southbound semi just after 9:00 p.m., Union County Sheriff Jamie Patton said.
Patton says this is the second serious crash on that stretch of roadway in a little over a month.
Sheriff’s deputies and Jerome Township Fire Department personnel responding to the scene found Sabillon-Lopez’s car resting against a guard rail in the northbound lane and a 2017 Freightliner tractor-trailer in a field facing south bound, Patton said.
Sabillon-Lopez’s body was transported to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office where Patton says an autopsy will be performed.
The driver of the semi-truck, William Featherstone, 56, of Canada, was not injured.
Patton says alcohol does not appear to be a factor in the crash but the investigation is continuing.