LICKING COUNTY, Ohio — An 82-year-old man was killed in a crash involving a semitrailer in Licking County Thursday night.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol said James Parker, of Laurel, Mississippi, was traveling in a 2018 Chevrolet Equinox was traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 70 near Buckeye Lake around 11:40 p.m.
The driver of a 2016 Freightliner was traveling in the eastbound lanes and struck the Chevrolet head on, causing the SUV to hit a guardrail. The semi went off the road, overturned down an embankment and into a body of water.
OSHP said Parker was pronounced dead at the scene about 10 minutes after the crash.
The semi driver was taken to a Licking Memorial Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Two of the eastbound lanes of I-70 are closed in the area as crews work to clear powdered chemicals from the road.
All drivers are encouraged to avoid the area through the morning commute. An alternate route for traffic would be Route 4 eastbound to Route 79 and Route 13.