A 28-year-old Michigan man was killed early on Wednesday morning, November 11, in a three-vehicle crash at the intersection of U.S. Route 20 and County Road 23 in Gorham Township, Fulton County, the Ohio State Highway Patrol said. Kurt Burgard of Blissfield, Michigan, died at the scene.
Source: Ohio State Highway Patrol account via Shelby News Reporter
The crash happened at about 6:59 a.m., in the early-morning darkness, just east of the village of Fayette in north-western Ohio, close to the Michigan state line. Burgard was driving north on County Road 23 toward its junction with U.S. 20, the patrol said.
How the crash happened, according to the patrol
The patrol said Burgard's 2014 Nissan Altima did not stop at the stop sign where County Road 23 meets U.S. 20. As the Altima entered the intersection, it was struck by a Chevrolet Silverado pickup that was travelling eastbound on U.S. 20. The patrol said Burgard was ejected from the Altima in that first collision.
The impact pushed the Altima into the westbound lanes of U.S. 20, where it was struck a second time, by a 2018 Honda Odyssey minivan, the patrol said. That second collision pushed the Altima off the road into a field at the north-east corner of the intersection. The Silverado continued off the roadway after the first impact and overturned in a field, the patrol said.
The Silverado's driver, a 64-year-old man from Fayette, suffered serious injuries and was transported to Mercy Health St. Vincent Medical Center in Toledo, the regional hospital for serious trauma cases in north-west Ohio. The Odyssey's driver, a 47-year-old from Lyons, suffered minor injuries and was not transported from the scene. The patrol said all three drivers were wearing safety belts. Burgard was pronounced dead at the scene.
Response on the scene
The patrol's Toledo post is investigating and was assisted at the scene by the Fulton County Sheriff's Office, the Fayette Fire Department, Fulton County EMS, the Morenci Fire Department, Life Flight and Hutch's Towing and Recovery, according to the patrol's account. The Morenci department's presence reflects how close the crash site sits to the Michigan line, where Ohio and Michigan responders routinely support each other.
The patrol has not said why the Altima did not stop, whether visibility, speed or any other factor contributed, or whether any citation will follow. The investigation by the Toledo post is continuing, and no finding beyond the patrol's preliminary account has been made public.
The road and the local picture
U.S. Route 20 is the longest U.S. highway in the country, running coast to coast, and across northern Ohio it is a busy two-lane route carrying local traffic, farm vehicles and trucks between small communities such as Fayette and the Toledo area. Its junctions with county roads are controlled by stop signs on the side roads, and early-morning crashes at such rural intersections are a recurring concern for troopers in the region. For Punjabi truckers and other commercial drivers among our readers who cross northern Ohio before dawn, this crash underlines the risk at unlit rural crossings where side-road traffic can enter the highway with little warning.
What happens next
The Ohio State Highway Patrol's Toledo post says the crash remains under investigation. Investigators will complete their findings before any decision on possible charges or citations is announced. The condition of the Fayette pickup driver at Mercy Health St. Vincent Medical Center had not been publicly updated in the latest reports. Awaaz Punjab will update this story when the patrol issues its findings.