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Recruit was not ejected from car in fatal crash on Rte. 5
Marines Laid To Rest
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Patrol says recruit was not ejected
By ED RUNYAN
LEAVITTSBURG
One of the three Marine Corps recruits who died March 31 in a Warren Township traffic crash was removed from the car by a bystander, and was not ejected from the Pontiac G6 he was riding in, the Ohio State Highway Patrol clarified this morning.
Each of the five men in the vehicle was wearing a seat belt, the patrol said. But incorrect information about Zachary Nolen, 19, of Newton Falls being ejected from the car was provided by a coroner's staffer to The Vindicator on Tuesday.
A tractor-trailer hit the back of the car, and there’s no indication that the truck braked, the patrol said.
Zachary Nolen, 19, of Newton Falls and Mineral Ridge, was on the ground when emergency personnel arrived. He was taken to Forum Health Trumbull Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Nolen died of head trauma, according to the coroner’s office, which conducted the autopsy.
Michael Theodore Jr., 19, of Howland, was trapped in the vehicle when emergency personnel arrived and was still in his seat belt. He was pronounced dead at the scene. His cause of death was multiple-blunt-traumatic injuries, the coroner said.
Joshua Sherbourne, 21, of Southington, was taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center, Youngstown, where he was pronounced dead. Dr. Joseph Ohr, forensic pathologist for Mahoning County, said Sherbourne died from injuries to his abdomen and chest.
Dr. Ohr said he doesn’t know whether Sherbourne was still in the vehicle when emergency workers arrived, but that will be part of his investigation.
Nolen, Theodore and Sherbourne were in the back seat of the G6 driven by Marine recruiter Sgt. Charles Keene. A fourth recruit, Karl McDermott III of Masury, was in the front passenger seat. Keene and McDermott were injured but survived.
The recruiter and young men were on their way to Cleveland to complete the final stages of enlistment in the Marines. They were to take the Oath of Enlistment on April 1.
Lt. Joe Dragovich, former commander of the Southington Post of the highway patrol, said the G6 was stopped at the Burnett Road traffic light on state Route 5 near Center of the World when the crash occurred. Two vehicles were in front of the G6 at the traffic light.
The traffic light turned green moments before the semi hit the back of the G6, Dragovich said, adding there is no indication that the driver of the truck, Donald Williams, 44, of Youngstown, applied his brakes before colliding with the G6.
Dragovich said it’s possible Williams didn’t stop because he saw the traffic light changing to green. When troopers interviewed Williams, he said he doesn’t remember what happened in the final moments before the crash.
The highway patrol has refused to release Williams’ address. When asked on Tuesday whether Williams is out of the hospital, Trooper Howard Kraft said he didn’t have that information, nor did he know how fast the semi was traveling.
“We’re just scratching the surface on this one,” Kraft said. “There’s so much involved.”
Another official at the Southington post said Tuesday that investigators will continue working on the accident report throughout the week and are conferring with the Trumbull County prosecutor’s office on possible criminal charges.
He estimated that the accident report would be made available to the public early next week.