Investigation concludes drugs or alcohol were not a factor in fatal April crash

NORWALK – An investigation by the Ohio Highway Patrol has concluded that alcohol or drugs were not a factor in a fatal two-vehicle crash in April that involved a man from Fremont, and that it is unknown if the deceased was using a seatbelt.

The patrol's Norwalk Post released the results of its investigation on Monday.

"We don't know why he drove left of center," Ohio Highway Patrol Sgt. Nathan Waldock said.

The two-vehicle head-on crash occurred on Ohio 162 at 1:41 p.m. on April 13, near Lyon Road in Greenfield Township, Huron County.

Crash killed Nathan Salazar, 24, of Willard

Nathan Salazar, 24, of Woodbine Street in Willard, died as a result of injuries when his Dodge pickup drove left of center and struck a Republic Services Mack truck head-on. The truck was driven by Steven Overmeyer, 62, of County Road 41 in Fremont. The Dodge pickup then caught on fire.

"The update went out to clarify that alcohol, or drugs, was not a factor. The original media release went out also indicating that (Salazar) was not wearing a seatbelt. We came to the conclusion that we didn't know, and that we will never know, if he was wearing a seatbelt, or not. The vehicle was badly damaged," Waldick added.

Investigators could not determine if Salazar was wearing a safety belt due to the extensive damage to the vehicle.

Salazar was driving a black 1997 Dodge pickup eastbound on Ohio 162 and Overmeyer was driving a blue 2018 Republic Services Mack truck westbound on Ohio 162.

Pickup ended up in the road and caught fire

After Salazar’s pickup went left of center and struck the Republic Services truck head-on, the Republic Services truck drove off the right side of the road into a ditch. Salazar’s pickup ended up in the road and caught fire.

Overmeyer was wearing a safety belt and received possible injuries. He was treated at the scene by Willard Fire and Rescue.The highway patrol was assisted by the Huron County Sheriff’s Office, the Willard Police Department, Willard Fire and Rescue, Ohio Department of Transportation, the Huron County Coroner’s Office, Huron County EMA and Wilcox Towing.

rlapointe@gannett.com

419-332-2674

This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Investigation excludes alcohol, drugs as factors in fatal April crash