SECOND VICTIM IN FIERY RITCHIE CRASH

(01/04/2008)

A second victim has died from a three-car crash in Ritchie County that killed a 2-month-old baby. The crash site turned into a fiery scene. 26-year-old Ezequiel Mehia Diaz of Parkersburg has died at the Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio. Diaz suffered serious burns December 27th after jumping from a burning car on U.S. Route 50. He had been traveling with 25-year-old Patricia Hardbarger and her sons, 2-year-old Lucas and 2-month-old Matthew, all of Berea. Matthew was dead at the scene. The vehicle had collided with a car driven by 60-year-old Karen Nicholson of Parkersburg before a third car driven by 22-year-old Tara Elias of Letart crashed into the pileup. Elias' car also struck Tony Courtney, a Lowell, Ohio, man who'd stopped to help after the initial crash. Courtney is in critical condition in a Columbus hospital. Elias, Patricia Hardbarger and her son Lucas have all been released from various hospitals. Nicholson is in fair condition at St. Joseph's Hospital in Parkersburg.

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