Ohio town sued for turning off lights to fight bug

MARBLEHEAD, Ohio (AP) — A shoreline community in Ohio is being sued over its strategy of turning off streetlights in summer to fight mayflies, a swarming insect common along Lake Erie.

In the lawsuit, a family says a teenage jogger was struck by a car and severely injured in Marblehead two years ago because a motorist couldn’t see him in the darkness.

Marblehead and neighboring communities typically turn off streetlights in June and July because the light tends to attract throngs of mayflies coming off the lake.

Brian Yutzy, now 18, and his parents say Marblehead was negligent, and they’re seeking $25,000 for medical costs and pain and suffering.

Marblehead’s mayor and village legal counsel declined comment on the lawsuit Tuesday because they said they haven’t seen it.