Leipsic man dies in Defiance County crash

VW independent/submitted information

DEFIANCE — A Leipsic man was killed when his car ran head-on into a semi-tractor-trailer rig on an exit ramp of U.S. 24 on Tuesday afternoon near Defiance.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol responded at 2:47 p.m. Tuesday to a two-vehicle crash on U.S. 24, a tenth of a mile east of Ohio 66, in Defiance.  The crash involved a passenger car and semi.

According to investigating troopers, a 2005 Buick Rendezvous driven by 63-year-old Joe R. Salinas of Leipsic was traveling the wrong way down an exit ramp into the westbound lanes of U.S. 24 when hit a westbound 2016 Freightliner semi driven by Harpreet Hayar, 35, of Ontario, Canada. The Buick traveled east and struck the westbound semi head-on. Both vehicles came to rest on U.S 24 after the impact.

Salinas, who was not wearing his seat belt at the time of the crash, was pronounced dead at the scene by the Defiance County Coroner’s Office. Hayar and passenger of the semi, Gurpip Singh Sahota, 46, also of Ontario, were not injured. Hayar had his seatbelt on during the crash, while Sahota was in the sleeper area of the semi at the time of the crash, and did not have a seat belt on. Both westbound lanes of U.S. 24 were shut down for three hours.

The Defiance Police Department, Defiance Fire and Rescue, and Ohio Department of Transportation also assisted the Patrol. The crash remains under investigation.