COLUMBUS – A West Side man died after being hit by multiple vehicles on a Hilliard-area interstate late Sunday, one of two fatal traffic incidents that occurred in Franklin County within a few hours.
Police say Jonathan Ard ran from the center median of I-70 and into the eastbound lanes of travel between the Hilliard-Rome Road interchange and the I-270 interchange just before 10:00 p.m.
Ard, 28, ran into the path of an eastbound Nissan Xterra driven by Kolton Koester, 22, who was approaching I-270 in the middle lane, Sgt. Brooke Wilson of the Accident Investigation Unit said.
Ard was struck by the right front of the Xterra and thrown into the left lane of the exit ramps to I-270 where he was struck by a semi operated by Karl Uhlig, 66, of Fond du Lac, Wisc.
Wilson says that pushed Ard back into the middle lane where he was struck by a Toyota Pruis operated by Andrew Decker, 24.
Ard was pronounced dead at the scene by Columbus fire personnel, Wilson said.
No charges had been filed as of early Monday and Wilson says the investigation is ongoing.
The accident happened about two hours after an 18-year-old Pickerington man was killed in a two-car crash in Madison Township.
Matthew Swint was killed when his Hyundai Elantra went left-of-center while traveling northbound on State Route317 north of Rohr Road at approximately 7:55 p.m. and struck a Toyota Tundra in the southbound lane, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Marc Gofstein said.
Swint was taken to Grant Medical Center where he later died of his injuries, Gofstein said.
The driver of the Toyota, identified as Marlene Jones, 54, of Grove City, suffered only minor injuries, he said.
It is unknown whether alcohol or drugs were a factor in the crash but Gofstein says Swint was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident, which remains under investigation.