WHIO Local News

UPDATE: Woman Remains in Critical Condition After Fiery Crash

Mike Ivcic

@ July 10, 2009 11:01 AM Permalink | Comments (3)

CEDARVILLE, Ohio - Five people, including three children, were injured and taken to area hospitals after a two-car collision just outside Cedarville on Thursday.

As of 11 a.m. Friday morning, the driver of one of the vehicles, Jennifer Laird, remains in critical condition. The condition of the other four passengers, including the other driver and Laird's three children, remains unknown.

The accident occurred at the intersection of Wilberforce-Clifton and Harbison roads just after 4:45 p.m. Witnesses said that an SUV collided with a car, severely damaging both vehicles.

Postal worker Holly Britton was passing the scene on her way home from work and stopped to help the victims out of their vehicles. She was able to help Laird out of the car seconds before it burst into flames.

Laird had three children in the back of the vehicle when the car exploded, but Britton was able to help them out of the car as well.

Melissa Vanzant, the driver of the SUV, was trapped inside of her vehicle until paramedics arrived. They used the jaws of life to cut the 28-year-old Vanzant out of the SUV.

Laird, 30, was taken by Careflight to Miami Valley Hospital, where she is listed in critical condition. Another Careflight took a 9-year-old girl to the hospital while an ambulance removed the other three victims, but their conditions are still unknown.

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What others are saying

car wreck
Thank you for your posting. The girl that I collided with was actually my best friend. We were each other's maids of honor. I know it sounds hard to believe and trust me it is for us too! We were both sent home from work for not feeling well. We were unaware of each other's illness or whereabouts at the time. I have been told that I passed out due to illness, or had a seizure. I don't remember anything from hours before the accident until eight days after the accident. One of my daughters had a traumatic brain injury, an emergency craniotomy, and spent seven weeks in the hospital. She's doing great now! Melissa's SUV caught on fire shortly after the collision. She was able to get out of the car safely, but injured from the crash. She suffered many broken bones and a few surgeries. She has been very supportive and truely knows the meeting of best friend. I suffered some pretty bad injuries(broken femur, crushed left side of face, MANY broken ribs, compound elbow, lacerated liver and spleen, many bumps and bruises). My other two girls had minor injuries, mostly emotional pain. The news got the story very twisted, but it doesn"t matter. We are all alive and have been given a second chance. It seeems we all are here for a purpose. Thanks for the thoughts and prayers. God Bless.
By Jennifer Laird @ 03/05/10 10:12:39 AMreport abuse
not valid info
Laird was in the car trapped, along with her 3 kids. The emergency professionals helped them, not some passer-by. the suv burst in flames, not the car
By anonymous @ 07/13/09 08:39:36 PMreport abuse
Incorrect information
The information in this article is confused. The SUV (not the car) caught fire and the driver of the car (not the SUV) was trapped. Please verify information before publishing articles.
By anonymous @ 07/10/09 07:35:29 AMreport abuse