MORAINE, Ohio (WDTN) – Police say alcohol was a factor in a wrong-way crash that killed a family of three.
A Mason mother and father and their 10-year-old daughter were hit head-on by a wrong-way driver on I-75 southbound.
It happened around 8pm Sunday between exits 47 and 50 – near Dryden Road in Moraine.
There was a string of 911 calls after a white Kia sedan traveling in the wrong direction hit a Toyota with the Thompson family inside.
“There was just a head-on collision 75 southbound, mile marker 47,” a 911 caller said. “The car left the right hand side going north into the left hand lane, head-on collision with somebody. I’m pretty sure no one survived. It was awful.”
Fifty-one-year-old Timmy Thompson, 50-year-old Karen Thompson, and their 10-year-old daughter Tessa were all killed.
Moraine Police Department sergeant Andrew Parish said officers are not identifying the wrong-way driver. The wrong-way driver is still in the hospital, in the intensive care unit.
“We do believe that alcohol was a factor. To what extent, we don’t know yet but we are investigating that,” Parish said, calling the crash “a tragedy.”
Karen was a teacher at Cincinnati Public Schools. CPS said in a statement: “Karen was a tremendous teacher for many years with Cincinnati Public Schools, working particularly with students with special needs. She will he missed by the entire CPS community.”
Tessa was a student at St. Susanna Parish School. The school said in a statement: “The fourth grader was a bright light who had a great effect on students and staff and it is a tragic loss for all who knew her.”
