Fatal accident’s victims’ names released

VW independent/submitted information

PAULDING — The Van Wert Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol has released names of those involved in a car-farm implement crash Tuesday evening in Paulding County.

According to investigating troopers, a 2013 Ford Fusion driven by Joel Molina, 19, of Paulding, was headed west on County Road 144, just east of Township Road 83 in Paulding County, when Molina’s vehicle rear-ended a farm implement being hauled behind a Case farm tractor operated by Francis Maag, 46, of Paulding. The Fusion then slid off the right side of the road and came to rest in a ditch.

The Patrol said Victor Alvarez Hernandez, 20, of Paulding, a passenger in the Molina vehicle, was pronounced dead at the scene by Paulding County Coroner Dr. Joseph Kuhn, while two other passengers, Ever Alvarez Gomez, 25, and Ranulfo Lopez Perez, 23, both of Paulding, were taken first to Paulding County Hospital, and then to Parkview Regional Medical Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana, for additional treatment. Maag was apparently uninjured.

Alcohol was believed to be a factor in the crash, which remains under investigation. Also assisting the Patrol at the scene were Paulding Fire and EMS, Antwerp Fire and EMS, Samaritan Medical Transport, the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office, and R and O Towing.

The Patrol encourages drivers and occupants to always wear their seat belts and never drive distracted or impaired.