Crash that killed woman helping others leads to calls for safety measures in fast-growing area

A floral memorial stands across from the site of a fatal incident earlier this month that resulted in the death of a Butler County woman who was assisting crash victims.

The crash and resulting death of the woman providing aid has heightened residents’ concerns about traffic safety in the fast-growing area along the Butler-Warren county line, east of Interstate 75.

Tina Campbell, 53, of Liberty Twp., died last Monday from injuries suffered on May 11 as she was helping victims of a crash on Butler-Warren Road at Heritage Club Drive.

Campbell, a wife, mother and grandmother, was popular with neighbors.

“She was a very sweet person,” neighbor Rita Armentrout said on Thursday after stopping to examine the memorial for Campbell at the entrance to the Hawthorne housing development of the Four Bridges Country Club, where they were backyard neighbors.

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“We’re all sick about it. The neighborhood is just in shock over Tina’s death.

“She was the kind of person you always thought you wanted to get to know better. This is tragic, but it should bring attention to the fact this is a extremely dangerous intersection.”

According to the crash report, Campbell and Aaron Reed, 49, of Mason were out of their cars giving aid to Jagdish Makkar, 83, of Beavercreek, and Ciarra Witt, 18, of Monroe, after their crash at the entrance to the Heritage Club development. A 2011 Mazda CX-9 driven northbound on Butler-Warren Road by John Cowdery, 25, of Liberty Twp., swerved to avoid the disabled vehicles and “rotated counter-clockwise” into Campbell and Reed.

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Campbell was pronounced dead at West Chester Hospital. None of the others were left with incapacitating injuries, according to investigators.

Investigators indicated they did not believe alcohol or drugs were a factor.

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No charges have been filed, pending review by the Warren County Prosecutor’s Office of the crash investigation and a study of the role of speeding, according to the report.

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Transportation officials from Butler, Warren and Hamilton counties are in the process of completing a series of road projects designed to improve traffic problems and safety on the stretch of Butler-Warren Road heading north from Hamilton County along the Butler-Warren county line, Warren County Engineer Neil Tunison said.

In addition, Tunison said a study is underway to attempt to convince the Ohio Department of Transportation to reduce the speed limit to 45 mph on the road, which widens from two to four lanes as it heads south near Monroe into Deerfield Twp. in Warren County along the boundary with Butler County.

“The speed limit is 55. Everybody goes 75,” said Marty Davis, who also lives in the Hawthorne development.

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Davis pointed south toward where Butler-Warren Road crosses Liberty Way and said plans were underway to build more than 1,000 new homes on undeveloped land between Hawthorne and the intersection.

“That’s too many,” she added.

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