AMHERST — Truck driver Doug Frasure made a split-second decision Tuesday that prevented a pile-up along state Route 2.

Frasure, of Parma, was driving his semi eastbound when he came upon a group of vehicles stopped for an accident. There was no way he was going to be able to stop his heavy, fast-moving rig in time on the slick road, so he steered the truck toward the median and hoped for the best, he said.

 “Instead of wiping out four or five or us,” Frasure said afterward while near his toppled truck, “I ended up sliding in the ditch.”

That crash — during the morning commute time — forced the portion of state Route 2 between Baumhart and Oak Point roads to close for more than an hour.

Police say the mess on Route 2 started after a car crashed into a guardrail. No one was hurt, but traffic started to back up as emergency crews tried to clear the scene. Not long afterward, Frasure’s semi approached the scene, but it wasn’t until he made it around a turn that he saw traffic grinding to a halt in front of him.

“When I moved over (into the left lane), four or five other cars came with me,” Frasure said. “To keep from hitting them, I ended up having to go into the ditch.”

Amherst police Lt. Joseph Kucirek said the rig drove into the median near Baumhart Road and tipped. Frasure wasn’t hurt; his truck and trailer sustained minor damage.

The crash remains under investigation, and no citations had been issued as of Tuesday, according to the Ohio Highway Patrol.

The Elyria and Milan posts of the patrol said they responded to several single-vehicle accidents that were blamed on the slick roads.  All involved vehicles drifting into roadside ditches or medians, and none involved anyone being seriously injured, they said.

Chronicle Chief Photographer Bruce Bishop contributed to this story.

Contact Stephen Szucs at 329-7129 or sszucs@chroniclet.com.

 

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