Car accidents are more common than deaths by illness. One moment, you are on the speedway, normally gliding through traffic and minding your own business. Next thing you know, your windows crash over you, and you blink into nothingness. A car accident happens that quickly and is painfully excruciating for the family or loved ones of the person who was impacted.
People gathered substantial intel from Hamilton County dispatch supervisor about a gruesome case whereby Anthony Griffith, 28, of Harrison, Ohio, heading west on Interstate 74 in a 2013 Ford Focus at around 11 p.m., local time, was involved in a crash at the Rybolt Road/Harrison Pike exit, where his car overturned and ejected him from it, and was proclaimed dead on the spot. This news was obtained by People via Fox affiliate WXIX.
Per the outlet via People, details of the accident were revealed whereby Griffith’s car screeched into the left side of the road, smashed into a concrete drain, flailed airborne in the air where it did a couple of overturns, causing the victim to spew out of the car and fall to his death. Authorities report that he was not wearing a seatbelt.
ABC affiliate WCPO reports via People that authorities believe Griffith may have been under the hard influence of alcohol and drugs, which may have led him to deflect his path and crash into the concrete drain. The Green Township Police Traffic Unit, Green Township Fire and EMS, and the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office, according to NBC affiliate WLWT, are peering more into the accident to determine the causality behind it and reported that he was alone at the time the incident occurred.
Griffith’s mother, Marianne Bell, took to Facebook to express her grief over her son’s passing and wrote, “It is with a very heavy and sad heart I let all my Facebook friends and family know. Last night my youngest son Anthony (AJ) was in a car crash that was fatal,” adding, “The wonderful Son, Brother, Friend, Dad, human is no longer with us. His beautiful loving soul is with all the loved ones [sic] who went before him, but I know his Memaw was waiting for him at the gate. I am grieving with his sisters, his brother, and his true loves Jade and Aurora. We know this will not be easy but we ask for all your prayers and love. Arrangements to follow.”
Mary Adams, who was Griffith’s cousin, also took to Facebook and wrote, “Prayers for a family member (cousin) who was involved in a car accident yesterday on 74 and unfortunately didn’t make it. Prayers for his mom Marianne Bell, dad Joe Griffith, Sisters Mary Butsch, Heather Anne Griffith, Shelby Griffith, and Brother Nick Bell as well as his many other family and friends,” she continued, “He never was without that silly grin and genuine soul,” adding, “Prayers also for his soulmate Jade White and beautiful 2-month-old baby girl Aurora Jade (AJ). God wrap your arms around them and all his family and friends. You are loved and will be missed AJ. Still in shock. Don’t take the family for granted, this life isn’t forever as we so sadly learned!”
A simple act of wearing a seatbelt may not have made his condition better but could have hopefully prevented him from dying on the spot. Car safety, drinking and driving, and driving without a seatbelt on are all the things that are taught when one receives a driving license, yet we can never guarantee absolute safety even on an empty road. While we may not be able to escape fate, what we can ensure on our part is to remain alert and not multitask while driving. Several road accidents that take place daily are mostly due to the negligence of the person behind the wheel.