Ohio News Photographer Killed On Way To Assignment

 

WATERVILLE, OH (November 10, 2008) – Misty Spurgeon, 26, a photographer for the Northwest Signal, was killed Saturday on her way to an assignment when her car was struck head-on by a pickup truck near Waterville, OH.

Ohio State Highway Patrol officers investigating the crash said that Spurgeon's car was hit by a pickup truck that was trying to pass a tractor-trailer. The photographer was driving westbound on U.S. 24 on her way to cover a Patrick Henry High School football playoff game, her newspaper reported. Spurgeon was pronounced dead at the scene by a Lucas County Coroner.

Spurgeon had worked at the newspaper for about two years, and she was a graduate of Patrick Henry High School and Northwest State Community College.

“If she loved anything more than taking photos, it was Patrick Henry athletics,” sports editor Jeff Ratliff said in the Northwest Signal. “Misty was a young person trying to make her way in this business. She was a good learner and energetic about taking photos. She was always trying to find ways to take better photos ... This has been a tragic and dark couple of days for everyone that knew Misty. She will be missed by all of us in the sports department."

Police told the Northwest Signal that charges are pending against the pickup's driver, Adam Straub, 25, of Columbia City, IN. Straub was eastbound on U.S. 24 around 11:20 a.m. when he tried to pass the larger truck and lost control, striking the side of the semi before veering into the westbound lane and hitting Spurgeon's car head-on, police said.

Two children in Straub's truck, a 1-year-old and a 4-year-old, along with passenger Andy Straub, 22, were uninjured. Police said the occupants of all three vehicles in the crash were wearing seat belts or child restraints.

Visitation will be 2 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Rodenberger Funeral Home of Deshler, OH. Services will be 11 a.m. Wednesday at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church of Deshler.

 

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