DELAWARE COUNTY, OHIO — A Columbus semi-truck driver is in custody Saturday night after failing to stop for backed-up traffic in a construction zone on Interstate 71, triggering a nine-vehicle chain reaction that killed a man, a woman, and a 1-year-old child — all from the same family.
The crash occurred at approximately 6:27 p.m. on Saturday in the northbound lanes of I-71 near the U.S. Route 36 interchange in Delaware County. A 2006 Freightliner semi-truck driven by Modou F. Ngom, 50, of Columbus, failed to stop for a line of traffic backed up in a construction zone. The truck slammed into the rear of several stopped vehicles, setting off a chain reaction involving nine vehicles total.
The Victims
The three victims — a 37-year-old man, a 36-year-old woman, and a 1-year-old child — were all residents of Ashley, Ohio, traveling in a 2016 Chevrolet Silverado. Their names have not been released pending notification of next of kin. Three other people sustained serious but non-life-threatening injuries and were transported to area hospitals.
Ngom was taken into custody at the scene and is being held at the Delaware County Jail on charges of vehicular homicide.
Both northbound and southbound lanes of I-71 closed for several hours while rescue crews worked the scene and crash reconstruction experts investigated. The Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Delaware Post is leading the investigation with assistance from the Delaware County Prosecutor’s Office and multiple local law enforcement and emergency agencies.
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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