SOUTH POINT – A two-car crash Friday on U.

Saturday, October 21, 2000

SOUTH POINT – A two-car crash Friday on U.S. 52 sent three people to the hospital and injured two others, the Ohio Highway Patrol said.

Emergency crews responded to the accident shortly after the call at 2:41 p.m., dispatchers said.

John S. Yoast Jr. of Effort, Pa., was driving a 1998 Mazda MPV when he crashed into the rear of a 1993 Dodge Spirit driven by 27-year-old Thomas B. Thompson of 96 Township Road 1188, South Point, OHP trooper J.K. Smith said.

"The Dodge was stopped at the red light in the U.S. 52 westbound lane when it was struck from behind and shoved through the intersection at Grandview Avenue," Smith said.

The driver of the Mazda told OHP officers he was driving at about 55 miles per hour when he collided with the stopped Dodge, Smith said.

Perry Township Volunteer Firefighters freed a 14-year-old female passenger from the wreckage.

"The patient was thrown to the rear of the car and pinned behind the seats," fire department Capt. Brent McKee said. "We had to cut the patient out using the Jaws of Life by removing the passenger side door and cutting the frame and body of the car to free her."

Once the juvenile was freed from the Dodge, she was life-flighted to St. Mary’s Hospital, where she was listed in stable condition as of Saturday.

The driver of the Dodge was treated by Southeast Ohio Emergency Medical Service crews at the scene.

Shawn A. Thompson, 23, of 96 Township Road 1188, South Point was a second passenger in the Dodge who sustained injuries, Smith said.

"He was transported by SEOEMS to King’s Daughters Medical Center where doctors have him listed as ‘stable but critical condition,’" he said.

Yoast was transported to King’s Daughters where he was treated for minor injuries and later released.

A passenger in the Mazda, Peggy M. Yoast, 62, of Philadelphia, Pa., was treated at the scene, the trooper said.

No citations have been issued but the incident remains under investigation.