COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A fatal four-vehicle accident brought the north outerbelt to a sudden halt Tuesday morning.
The closing was between I-70 and the Robert Road exit on the city's West Side.
The crash happened at 6:10 a.m. and was just before the Roberts Road exit.
The freeway was reopened close to 12:15 p.m.
The closing remained in place for about six hours.
NBC 4's Tom Brockman was on the scene all morning as accident investigators collected evidence.
The crash involved three cars and a trash truck and caused a traffic nightmare as drivers tried to find alternative routes or try to move around in the tragic scene.
Accident investigators were on the scene and have the difficult task of figuring out exactly what happened.
While much is still unclear about what happened, Columbus police officials said they believe at least one driver slowed down or stopped on the highway before being run into and causing the accident.
Here's an accident report from CPD: Gregory S. Marcinko, 39, of Lockborne was driving a 2001 International truck northbound on I-270 in the middle lane approaching Roberts Road. He encountered a 2002 Honda that was being driven by Wayne G. Stoof of Columbus. Stoof's vehicle was stopped northbound directly ahead of the International and in the middle lane. At the same time, 33-year-old Markio Washington of Columbus, driving a 93 Ford Escort, also was stopped in the middle lane ahead of the Honda. Washington has exited his vehicle. Marcinko veered but was unable to avoid colliding with the Honda or Washington. The Honda collided with the Escort then entered the right lane where it was struck by a 94 Ford Escort driven by 42-year-old Constance Lofton of Columbus.
According to the owner of Local Waste Services, the driver and passenger of the trash truck said the cars were just sitting in the middle of I-270 without any flashers on. He said they tried to swerve to miss them but it was too late. In fact, he said the truck actually slid on its side for some distance after the accident until it righted itself in the wire barrier.
Washington was transported to Mount Carmel West Medical Center in critical condition. He later died from his injuries.
Stoof was transported to Mount Carmel, too, in stable condition. Lofton was transported to OSU Medical Center in stable condition.
The driver and passenger of the trash truck were not transported.
Columbus police will continue to investigate.
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