The Ohio State Highway Patrol released on Monday an additional 68 pages of the accident report for the March 31 crash in Warren Township that took the life of three Marine recruits.
The expanded report reveals that troopers inventorying the contents of the vehicles involved in the accident discovered two prescription bottles of pills in the semi-truck driven by Donald P. Williams Jr., of Youngstown. It was Williams' semi that collided into the rear of the Marine vehicle while it waited in a line of three cars for the red light at the intersection of state Route 5 and Burnett Street.
Both prescriptions were for antibiotics; one for Doxycycline and the other for Sulfamethoxazone. Both prescriptions were made out to Williams. Neither drug lists cautions against driving or operating machinery while taking, according to pharmaceutical websites.
Also included in the expanded report is a written statement from Williams given at the hospital the day of the accident. In it, Williams wrote a response to the question: "Do you remember anything else?" by answering "I think I might have blacked out."
Williams denied in subsequent questions that he had taken any prescription medicine, drugs of any kind or consumed any alcohol the day of the accident. He also denies any previous blackout occurences. He also refused to sign his statement, according to the document.
Results of blood tests taken from Williams on the day of the accident have not yet been released.
Also of interest was a witness statement by Rudolph Palya, of Windham, who was second in line at the traffic light, just in front of the Marine vehicle. Palya writes "I glanced in my rear-view mirror and noticed the semi coming at the second or third car behind me. Knowing and seeing his speed that he wasn't going to be able to stop, I saw the semi impact the last car in line. At that split second, I saw the semi start to rise up on the vehicle like a monster truck and after that it was a chain reaction impact."
Killed in the vehicle that the semi first impacted were Joshua Sherbourne, of Southington, Michael Theodore Jr., of Warren, and Zachery Nolan, of Mineral Ridge. The three men were Marine recruits on their way to Cleveland to sign final enlistment papers. Driving the Marine vehicle was Sgt. Charles Keene, of Youngstown, and sitting in the front seat next to Keene was Carl McDermott, of Masury. Keene and McDermott survived the accident with injuries. Both have been released from the hospital.
A total of seven vehicles and 15 people were involved in the accident.
No charges against Williams have yet been filed, but the investigation is still ongoing.
