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Rodney J. Bartleson Jr., 34, and Marvin Eugene Hunter, 43, both of Cincinnati, were identified as the victims, according to the State Highway Patrol. The Butler County Coroner’s Office was called to the accident.
The crash remains under investigation by the Ohio State Highway Patrol Reconstruction Unit.
Minutes after the crash, the West Chester Police Department received at least seven 911 calls from frantic motorists, some whom cried while talking to the dispatcher. They described a chaotic scene that was caused by ice and snow on a bridge just north of Union Centre Boulevard. They said there were several accidents and near accidents as vehicles spun out of control.
One caller reported seeing one man lying in the left-hand lane of northbound 75. He said motorists were swerving to keep from hitting the body.
Another caller said he was driving behind when the three vehicles crashed. When the dispatcher told the man it was a fatality, he said: “Oh my God.” Then he started crying.
“I’m in shock,” another caller said.
The callers said the bridge near Union Centre was “a sheet of ice” and cars were spinning out of control. Dispatchers told the callers paramedics and the Ohio Department of Transportation were dispatched to the scene.
“It was insane,” another 911 caller said.
Later he added: “I feel like I’m in shock.”
Several other accidents on I-75, I-71 and I-275 were reported Thursday morning after a burst of scattered showers dumped ice and snow across the region.
Chris Petrocy, spokesman for the Butler County Engineer’s Office, said the storm that swept through the area was “unpredictable,” and because of that, made it difficult for the road departments to prepare.
He said “organized” storms, those that are forecast, typically are easier for road departments to battle.
Street departments through the county were dispatched at 4 a.m. and concentrated on overpasses and bridges, Petrocy said.
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