NEW LYME TOWNSHIP —
Tuesday night’s fiery traffic crash and explosion at a BP convenience store in New Lyme Township was the latest in a series of violent accidents at the intersection of routes 6 and 46, the newest victims said.
“We need a stop light here,” said Kevin Carr, who owns the store where a vehicle sent spinning in a crash plowed into two other vehicles at the store, igniting a fire and explosion that destroyed a fuel pump and canopy above the fuel island.
Three people were injured in the crash, but none are believed to have suffered life-threatening injuries, according to an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper at the scene. The crash remains under investigation, and identities of the motorists involved were not available from troopers on Wednesday.
Carr and his wife, Kellie, said accidents are a common occurrence at the intersection. “We average about one every three months,” Kellie said.
It’s a two-way stop at the intersection that also features a blinking stop/warning light, depending on direction of travel. A four-way stop, rumble strips at the approaches and a reduced speed limit would help, Kellie said.
“Something needs to be done,” she said. “It’s a miracle no one was killed (Tuesday).”
Kevin’s daughter, Brittany, was at the store when the crash occurred, and was moments from stepping outside when the chain of events began.
“It was crazy,” she said. “It was an adrenaline rush.”
A sedan traveling south on Route 46 went through a stop sign, striking a pickup truck entering the intersection on Route 6, troopers have said. The impact knocked the truck into the store’s fueling area, slicing off a fuel pump and striking two other vehicles. The pump was automatically shut off when it was struck, but fuel in its line, along with gasoline in the vehicles, ignited and burned — and then exploded.
A young girl was struck in the leg, while a man pumping gas was pinned between vehicles, Brittany said. Passersby rescued the man, along with the driver in the sedan, she said.
“They got everyone out,” Brittany said.
Firefighters from a half-dozen departments responded to the crash, and the intersection was closed to traffic for nearly three hours.
The store was open for business Wednesday — although no gas will be pumped until the dispensing system gets a thorough examination and the canopy is repaired or replaced. “We’re waiting to hear about the insurance,” Kellie said.
Customers were buzzing about the crash and fire, and many have visited and called to offer support, Kellie said. “The phone’s been ringing off the hook,” she said.
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