High school football player killed in head-on collision in Butler County

A Butler County high school is mourning the loss of a rising junior linebacker.

“He was a unique individual; he was a hard-working person,” La Salle High School guidance counselor and longtime assistant football coach Tom Doerger said.

La Salle student and linebacker Cameron Kerkhoff, 16, was killed in a head-on crash in Fairfield Township Wednesday afternoon.

Doerger and the La Salle High School community continued to mourn Thursday morning.

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“It’s a very solemn atmosphere right now,” Doerger told our news partners at WCPO. “Anytime that we lose a student that’s either currently enrolled or a recent grad - it’s really tough institutionally.”

Crews were called to a two-vehicle crash with entrapment in the 7400 block of Rive Road around 4:15 p.m Wednesday.

When they arrived on the scene they found Kerkhoff’s car had struck a semi-tractor head-on, throwing it off the side of the roadway, according to a release.

Kerkhoff was pronounced dead at the scene.

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The driver of the semi was uninjured.

Fairfield Township police are investigating the crash with members of the Butler County Serious Traffic Accident Reconstruction Team.

Police said officers are investigating distracted driving, seat belt use and other contributing factors; A toxicology report is pending.

La Salle has offered its students counseling services anytime this week.