Pickup truck towing horses slammed into the rear of a semi

Staff report

LAKE MILTON

A South Carolina man, three horses and a dog were killed in a three-vehicle crash Thursday afternoon on the east-bound lanes of Interstate 76 at the Lake Milton Bridge in Milton Township where traffic had slowed for construction cleanup.

The Canfield Post of the Ohio Highway State Patrol reported that the crash, which occurred about 3:45 p.m., involved a pickup truck towing a horse trailer containing 10 horses, a semi-trailer tractor and another vehicle.

Killed was William Tinkard, 31, the driver of the pickup, and a dog in the pickup.

The seven surviving horses were sent to local farms for examination by a veterinarian and until Tinkard’s family can retrieve them, said Lt. Nakia J. Hendrix of the OHSP Canfield Post.

Neither the driver of the semi nor an elderly couple in the vehicle were injured, Hendrix said.

Traffic on the eastbound lanes of I-76 was backed up an estimated 2 miles to state Route 225 in Portage County for several hours.

Initially, the Ohio Department of Transportation District 4 detoured traffic from I-76 to southbound Route 225, east on Mahoning Avenue, then north on state Route 534 back to I-76.

About 8 p.m., one lane of I -76 eastbound was open to traffic, and by 8:30 p.m., all lanes were open, Hendrix said.

The Mahoning County coroner was called to the scene.