OSHP: Alcohol a factor in Erie Township train vs. car crash

ERIE TOWNSHIP, Ohio - The Sandusky Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol is investigating a crash between a car and train in Erie Township that sent two men to the hospital Thursday.

It happened when a car traveling southbound on Tettau Road failed to stop at a railroad crossing and was hit on the right side by a train, then pushed into the railroad crossing sign, according to troopers.

The driver of the 1989 Eagle Summit, Jeremiah Pitts, 35, of Lacarne, Ohio was taken to Magruder Hospital in Port Clinton with non-life threatening injuries.

The passenger in the car, 32-year-old, Kenneth Godfrey, of Port Clinton, was flown to St. Vincent’s Mercy Medical Center in Toledo and is listed in stable condition.

None of the train crew was injured.

Troopers said the railroad crossing lights and gates were working correctly at the time of the crash but alcohol does appear to be a factor in the crash.

Ottawa County Sheriff's Office, Mid-County EMS, Erie Township Fire and EMS,  LifeFlight and Don's Towing and Norfolk and Southern Railroad assisted in the crash, which remains under investigation.