Savannah Johnson, 15, and Karaline Johnson, 13, were identified as two of the three people killed in the crash on Interstate 70 in Cambridge Township Thursday morning, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
News Center 7 previously reported that their father, Nathan Johnson, 45, also of Fairborn, was also in the car at the time of the crash. He was taken to Ohio Health Hospital of Cambridge where he died.
A preliminary investigation showed that Raymond Clifford, of Orange City, Florida, was driving a 2018 Freightliner commercial vehicle west on I-70 when it went off the left side of the roadway, crossed the median, and then struck a guardrail and the Nissan Versa carrying the three members of the Johnson family that was headed east on I-70. Fairborn teens identified as 2 others killed in Guernsey County crash
Because the bottom of a truck is higher than the bumper of passenger vehicles, when there is a collision the smaller vehicle easily slides under the truck and the first point of impact is the windshield. Seatbelts, airbags, and car crumple zones do not function as intended in underride crashes —front, side, and rear — leaving passenger vehicle occupants vulnerable to life-threatening injuries.
Nathan, Savannah, & Karaline Johnson, Precious Ones Gone Too Soon
See Underride Crash Memorials posted here and at #STOPunderrides Tweets. To add photos or more information on this story or to add other underride crashes to be remembered, send an email to underridemap@gmail.com. Please use this Interactive Underride Crash Map Crash Location Input Form to provide us with accurate information . (Note: the map is currently not online; but we would keep the information for future updating and to aid in underride advocacy efforts.)
Support improving Underride Protection on trailers: Contact your legislators with this User-Friendly TAKE ACTION online tool.
Please sign this petition: Secretary Pete, It’s Past Time To End Death By Underride!
Note: In order to raise awareness and preserve the memories of underride victims — precious ones gone too soon — I have been writing memorial posts on what could potentially be underride crashes. I am not a crash reconstructionist, and I do not have all the facts on these crashes; but underride should be investigated as a potential factor in truck crash injuries and deaths.
We are asking that people send us crash reports for collisions with trucks which they suspect involved underride. Send them to marianne@annaleahmary.com. We will submit these as complaints to USDOT. Read more here: Launching a Campaign To Flood NHTSA With Underride Complaint Reports.
