6 teens killed, 2 injured after SUV crashes in northeast Ohio

USPA News - A sport utility vehicle carrying eight people crashed into a guardrail in northeastern Ohio Sunday and rolled into a swampy pond, killing six teenagers and injuring the two survivors, the state`s highway patrol said. The cause was not immediately known.

Lieutenant Anne Ralston, a spokeswoman for the Ohio State Highway Patrol, said the accident happened at about 6:50 a.m. local time on Sunday in the city of Warren, the county seat of Trumbull County. It is located about 14 miles (23 kilometers) northwest of Youngstown, or 143 miles (230 kilometers) northeast of Columbus. Investigators said the vehicle, a 1998 Honda Passport, went off a local road and struck a guardrail before rolling over into a swampy pond in which it became submerged on its roof. The sport utility vehicle was carrying a total of eight people, all of them teenagers between the ages of 14 and 19. "Two of the occupants were able to escape from the vehicle and went to a nearby residence to call 911," Ralston said. "Warren City Fire Department arrived on scene and removed 5 victims from inside the vehicle. A sixth victim was ejected during the crash and was located under the vehicle when it was being removed from the water." The two survivors, identified as 15-year-old Asher C. Lewis and 18-year-old Brian K. Henry, were taken to a local hospital. The deceased were identified as 19-year-old Alexis Cayson, 14-year-old Andrique Bennett, 15-year-old Kirklan M. Behner, 15-year-old Daylan Ray, 17-year-old Brandon A. Murray, and 15-year-old Ramone M. White. They were all from Warren. The cause of Sunday`s accident was not immediately known, but Ralston said an investigation is underway involving the Warren Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Ohio Investigative Unit, and the Trumbull County Coroner`s Office. It was not clear who was driving the vehicle.