PEDRO — Two Ironton men were killed this morning in an accident on State Route 93, about 4 miles north of the city limits.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol reports that Fred Wilds, 33, and Rodney Joseph, 34, were killed at about 2:30 a.m., when the vehicle they were traveling northbound in went out of control, struck a guardrail on the left side of the road, flipped several times and came to a stop on its wheels.

Joseph was pronounced dead at the scene; Wilds was transported to King’s Daughters Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

Scott Wilds, 26, of Pedro, was also in the vehicle. He suffered minor injuries and was taken to KDMC where he was treated and released.

The accident closed State Route 93 for more than six hours and left debris and car parts strewn over the roadway and in residents’ yards. The scene was cleared at about 8:30 a.m.

The OSHP continues to investigate the accident. The OSHP Crash Reconstruction Unit was on the scene today trying to determine what caused the accident. At this time, it is unclear who was driving the vehicle or if the occupants were wearing their seatbelts.

Penny Goulds was traveling through the area at the time of the accident. The Blackfork resident, who is visiting with family in Decatur Township, said she was about 100 yards behind the vehicle when she saw it begin to flip.

“It was scary. It was like something you see out of a movie,” Goulds said.

She left the scene when emergency crews arrived. She returned about 6:30 a.m. to find out what had happened to the men involved.

“I wanted to stay out here (after the accident), but I was hysterical. To see something like that is just very disturbing,” she said. “I went to my aunt’s house to calm down, then I came back. I just felt like I needed to see how they were. Now that I’ve found out, I just pray for everybody involved.”

Bill Roberts, of Coal Grove, was also at the scene this morning. He said state Route 93 is a “death trap” and that each death should serve as a reminder of how dangerous the road really is.

Roberts said he hopes that public officials will look at reconfiguring the much-traveled road or at least posting signs designating it as a high-accident area.

Roberts said, “How many more accidents are we going to have like this before somebody does something about it?”