Man dies after crashing SUV

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

A 26-year-old Struthers man died of head and neck injuries when he crashed his vehicle into a vacant brick commercial building.

Police said James S. Evanson of Ridgeway Street crashed his 2003 Ford Expedition SUV into the building at 690 Wilson Ave., near the Madison Avenue Expressway on the city’s East Side about 1:20 a.m. Sunday.

An autopsy conducted Monday by Dr. Joseph S. Ohr of the Mahoning County coroner’s office revealed Evanson died of head and neck injuries.

The death is being investigated as an accident.

The crash is also under investigation, but police said there weren’t any skid marks on the street, indicating Evanson likely didn’t slow down before his vehicle hit the building.

The impact of the crash knocked bricks off of the building, police said.

There were three other people in the vehicle with Evanson at the time of the crash, police said.

One received serious, but nonlife-threatening, injuries while the two others were treated for minor injuries at St. Elizabeth Health Center and released, police said while declining to reveal their names.