Web only: Crash on I-76 backs up traffic

Aman Ali

A truck flipped over near the Tallmadge Road exit on I-76 West today causing an almost two-mile buildup for more than an hour.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol is still investigating the accident, but no fatalities were reported.

At around 2:55 p.m., Youngstown resident Al Sams was driving his Chevy Silverado on the left lane of the highway. Sitting beside him was his son Allen and in the backseat was his grandson A.J. and wife Margie.

Margie Sams said a man driving a Pontiac Grand Prix repeatedly hit their vehicle causing it to flip over.

“My husband kept trying to move over,” she said. “All of a sudden I heard a bang. The car flipped over, all I saw was green, and before I know it we were left hanging in our seatbelts.”

Allen Sams was taken to Akron City Hospital for a minor cut on his head, but no one else in the vehicle said they had any significant injuries.

The driver of the Grand Prix declined to comment, and highway patrol officers said they are still investigating the accident due to conflicting stories between both drivers.

By around 4:30 p.m., police and highway patrolmen had restored the regular flow of traffic.

Read tomorrow’s Daily Kent Stater for more on this story.