Motorcyclist hospitalized

Motorcyclist hospitalized

HERMITAGE, Pa. — A car hit a motorcycle from behind while it was stopped at an intersection, police report.

Craig Kryger, 38, of 1 Stone Ridge Blvd., Hermitage, was stopped on East State Street to make a left turn onto Churchwood at 8:40 p.m. Tuesday, police said.

A car driven by Susan McLaughlin, 54, of Woodside Drive in Hermitage, hit him from behind, police said.

McLaughlin was cited for speed, police said. Kryger was taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center in Youngstown, where he was in stable condition Wednesday night.

Immediately after the accident, another car driven by John Hall, 56, of Main Street in Greenville, struck McLaughlin’s car. Neither Hall nor McLaughlin was injured, police said. Hall was cited for speed, police said.

Exit ramp closed

GIRARD — A tractor-trailer, southbound on state Route 11, lost its load while on the exit ramp turning east onto Interstate 80.

The ramp was closed from about 4:45 to 8 p.m. Wednesday while the truck’s load of scrap and sheet metal was cleaned up.

While the ramp was closed, traffic was rerouted via Gypsy Lane. The truck driver was not injured, according to the Ohio Highway State Patrol, which is investigating the crash. The driver’s name was unavailable.

Guilty of drug charges

LISBON — The Columbiana County Prosecutor’s Office is recommending a five-year prison sentence for an East Liverpool woman who pleaded guilty Wednesday to drug-related charges.

Trudy Mason, 41, of Sprucevale Road, was indicted in 2006 and 2008. The earlier crimes began in 2005. All involved cocaine.

Mason pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in a pattern of corrupt activity by offering to sell drugs; two counts of trafficking in drugs, three counts of possession of drugs, and one charge of tampering with evidence.

The prosecutor’s office dropped three charges as part of the plea agreement. Sentencing was set for 3:15 p.m. June 9.

Video store robbed

CHAMPION — A masked man armed with a handgun robbed the Video Update, 4443 Mahoning Ave., shortly after 9 p.m. Wednesday.

Officials said the robber entered the store and demanded money from the clerk, who was alone in the business at the time. He fled in a 1990s-era maroon Lincoln. No injuries were reported.

Transformers explode

HERMITAGE, Pa. — Power was lost to businesses and residents in Hermitage and Wheatland, Pa., in the area of state Routes 60 and 18, when a couple of transformers exploded around 8:20 p.m. Wednesday, according to police officials. Roads remained open to traffic, and power had been restored by 10 p.m., it was reported.