Three dead in crash on Interstate 70 West near The Highlands | News, Sports, Jobs

Photo by: Derek Redd

Emergency crews responded to the scene of a fatal accident on Interstate 70 near The Highlands Thursday evening.

TRIADELPHIA – A three-vehicle crash Thursday evening on Interstate 70 West near The Highlands left three people dead and both lanes of I-70 West closed for hours.

According to Ohio County Sheriff Tom Howard, a vehicle traveling east on I-70 lost control and crossed the median heading west. The vehicle collided with another vehicle and then struck a semi-truck head-on.

Three people in the car that crossed the median were killed, Howard said. The driver of the semi was taken to WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital as a precaution, as were an adult and a child in the third vehicle. Howard said those three did not appear to be seriously injured.

I-70 West reopened shortly before midnight.

The names of those involved in the crash had not been released as of Thursday evening.

Authorities diverted traffic from I-70 West at the Dallas Pike exit for several hours Thursday evening while police, firefighters and rescue personnel responded to the scene.

Thursday's accident prompted Howard to reiterate his call for installing a cable in the center lane of that stretch of Interstate 70, a measure he said he has been calling for since he was first elected sheriff.

“The only thing I can imagine is that if the cable had been there, the car wouldn't have crossed the center line,” Howard said.