WAPAKONETA, Ohio (WLIO) - The Wapakoneta Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol has confirmed that 35-year-old Tara Skeens has died as a result of a crash at SR 197 and Conant Road on Wednesday, July 30th.
The driver of the pickup, 35-year-old Michael Makar, was released from the hospital last week. The driver of the SUV, Jeffrey Odenweller, is still hospitalized. All three crash victims had been transported to Mercy Health - St. Rita's Medical Center in Lima.
According to the State Patrol, Odenweller failed to yield at a stop sign at the intersection. Alcohol is a suspected factor, but troopers are awaiting toxicology results. Lt. J.D. Westerfield of the Wapakoneta Post said those results could take up to a month, before the formal filing of charges.
Original story from Thursday, July 31st:
WAPAKONETA, Ohio (WLIO) - Alcohol is believed to be a factor in a two-vehicle crash that seriously injured three people late Wednesday night in Auglaize County.
It happened just before 9:30 at the intersection of SR 197 and Conant Road. The state patrol reports that 22-year-old Jeffrey Odenweller from Elida was driving southbound on Conant Road and failed to stop at a stop sign at the intersection with SR 197. Odenweller hit a pick up truck driven by 35-year-old Michael Makar of Spencerville.
Both vehicles went off the left side of the road into a corn field with Makar's vehicle overturning. The post says a passenger in the truck, 35-year-old Tara Skeens of Spencerville, was wearing a seatbelt but received life-threatening injuries and was taken to St. Rita's. Makar was also wearing a seatbelt and Odenweller was not wearing a seat belt. Both received serious injuries and were also taken to St. Rita's.
The state patrol used a drone to document the crash scene due to alcohol potentially being a factor in the crash, and with the severity of the injuries.
July 31, 2025, Press Release from the Wapakoneta Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol:
WAPAKONETA, Ohio - The Wapakoneta Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol is investigating a two-vehicle serious injury crash that occurred on July 30, 2025, at approximately 9:27 p.m. in Auglaize County, Ohio. The crash occurred on State Route 197 at the intersection of Conant Road.
Jeffrey H. Odenweller, age 22, of Elida, Ohio was operating a 2018 Honda CR-V. Michael S. Makar, age 35, of Spencerville, Ohio was operating a 2002 Chevrolet Silverado. Tara Skeens, age 35, of Spencerville, Ohio was a passenger in the Chevrolet.
The preliminary investigation indicates the Honda was southbound on Conant Road and the Chevrolet was westbound on State Route 197. The Honda failed to stop at the stop sign at the intersection and struck the Chevrolet. Both vehicles went off the left side of State Route 197. The Honda came to rest in a cornfield and the Chevrolet overturned into a cornfield.
Odenweller was not wearing a safety belt. He sustained serious injuries and was transported to St. Rita's Medical Center by Cridersville EMS.
Makar was wearing a safety belt. He was transported to St. Rita's Medical Center by Spencerville EMS with serious injuries. Skeens was wearing a safety belt. She sustained life threatening injuries and was transported to St. Rita's Medical Center by Cridersville EMS.
The Auglaize County Sheriff's Office, Cridersville Fire Department/EMS, Buckland Fire Department, Spencerville EMS, and Nelson's Towing also responded to the crash.
Alcohol is suspected of being a factor in the crash.
The crash remains under investigation by the Wapakoneta Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
