According to the Highway Patrol the juvenile driver of a late model Chevrolet Monet Carlo lost control while apparently drag racing, and slid off the road. The car then struck a landscaped area and overturned, ejecting the unrestrained front passenger, 18 year-old Emily Knauff, of Peebles. Knauff was crushed by the car as it overturned and, according to the Highway Patrol, was found dead at the scence.
A spokesperson for the Ohio Highway Patrol pointed out the evidence for racing as the cause of the fatal accident.
"All the steering marks occur while the Monte Carlo is on the wrong side of the road. There's no indication that it traveled on their side, they were completely on the wrong side when it happened. It's consistent with a drag race," said Sergent Charlie Scales of the OSHP.
Both the rear seat passenger, Patricia Lewis, age 18 of West Union, and the 16 year-old driver, who may face criminal charges, were taken to the Adams County Hospital and treated for minor injuries and released, according to the ACH. The OSHP conducted skid tests on Sunday in an attempt to determine the speed of the vechicle at the time of the accident, but no results had been determined as of press time. The accident is still under investigation.
