The victim is Michael Crawford, 35, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Wapakoneta Post. Hew was the only person in the pickup at the time of the crash.
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Crawford was pronounced dead at the scene by Auglaize County Coroner Dr. Thomas Freytag.
The crash remains under investigation.
UPDATE @ 9:15 p.m. (June 5):
Witnesses told investigators a driver in his 30s whose body was recovered from his submerged pickup was “slumped over and unresponsive” as the vehicle entered the water, according to a release from the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Wapakoneta Post.
A 911 call was made at 5 p.m. about the pickup that crashed into the lake at the Arrowhead Lakes Resort, 14296 Cemetery Road.
Rescuers tried to free the lone occupant from the vehicle. However, due to the water’s depth between 12 and 14 feet in the crash location they were unable to extricate him, the patrol said.
The driver’s seat belt was fastened, and alcohol is not suspected.
The driver’s name is being withheld pending notification of family, and the crash remains under investigation.
UPDATE @ 7:10 p.m.
The incident occurred just before 5 p.m. when emergency crews were called to the scene.
Based on the markings on the road, the pickup drifted off the right side and went through the right-of-way fence, and coasted down the embankment, said Lt. Scott Carrico of the Ohio High Patrol’s Wapakoneta post.
Witnesses said they saw the pickup drive through a wooden fence and into the swimming area at Arrowhead Lakes Resort at the corner of Cemetery Road and Bellefontaine Street, he said. The vehicle was moving “extremely” slow when it entered the water, and the driver appeared to be slumped over at the wheel, Carrico said.
“So at this point alcohol and drugs aren’t suspected, but we will be testing to determine that,” he said.
Nobody was in the water at the time the vehicle entered, and there were no other injuries, Carrico said. He said the driver was alone in the vehicle, and he appeared to be in his mid-30s. His identity has not been released.
UPDATE @ 6:33 p.m.
One man is confirmed dead after he drove his pickup truck into a pond, officials said, noting that it’s unclear what caused the unidentified man to drive into the pond.
FIRST REPORT
A coroner investigator has been called to a scene where a vehicle was fully submerged in water on Bellefontaine Street off U.S. 33, east of Wapakoneta in Auglaize County.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol, which is conducting the investigation, confirmed that the coroner is on the scene, but declined to say if there’s a fatality.
We have a photographer en route to the scene, and we will bring you the latest information as it becomes available.
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