Staff report

JACKSON TOWNSHIP — A Leavittsburg woman died in a 10:38 p.m. Monday crash on Interstate 80.

Sgt. Patrick Abel of the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Canfield Post said Michelle Ritenour, 39, was traveling west near the Ohio Turnpike entrance when the right front of her Pontiac Grand Prix struck the rear of a semi truck trailer. Her car spun out and was disabled in the middle of the highway, a patrol report states.

After that, a Mercedes-Benz E 320 came up from behind and struck her car in the passenger side. Ritenour was taken to St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital, where she died, Abel said.

It appears that a lot of time did not elapse between the spinout and the second crash, but that amount of time has not been determined because there were no witnesses, Abel said. “Was it two seconds, five seconds, 10 seconds?” He said investigators are hoping to learn more about that.

The semi truck driver was getting his vehicle to the side of the road after the initial crash when the second crash happened, Abel said.

Abel urges anyone with information on the crash to call the Ohio State Highway Patrol at 330-533-6866.

The accident was the 17th fatal crash in Mahoning County this year, according to the OSHP.