Two injured in late-night I-75 crash near Wapakoneta

AUGLAIZE COUNTY, Ohio — Two people were injured, one of them critically, in a two-vehicle crash Thursday night along Interstate 75 north of Wapakoneta. It happened just before 10:30 p.m. in the northbound lanes at milepost 114 in Duchouquet Township, closing that side of the highway for over three hours. 

According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the driver of a Rivian pickup, Mason Tyler, 34, of Sidney, was driving impaired when he stopped in the left lane of the interstate in front of the temporarily closed rest area. The driver of a northbound Pontiac Grand Prix, Aaron Blauvelt, 23, of Lima, struck the rear of the stopped Rivian at highway speed, sending his car into the grass between the highway and rest area parking lot, trapping him inside. The Rivian spun around and came to rest facing south in the passing lane. 

First responders worked for an hour to free Blauvelt from the wreckage before rushing him to Lima Memorial Hospital with critical injuries. Life Flight then flew him to the OSU Wexner Medical Center in Columbus. Tyler was treated for minor injuries and released from Lima Memorial Hospital. Troopers cited him for OVI and prohibition against parking on highways. Neither man had a passenger. 

Fire and EMS personnel from Wapakeneta and Cridersville were assisted at the scene by deputies from the Auglaize County Sheriff's Office and officers from the Lima Police Department. Auglaize County CERT responded to divert northbound traffic off the highway a mile south of the crash onto State Route 67. 

All lanes reopened, and the scene was cleared at 2 a.m. Friday morning. The crash remains under investigation by troopers from the Wapakoneta Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.