Police say a car crash claimed the lives of three northeast Ohio teens, including the 18-year-old driver, just hours before his high school graduation.
Ohio troopers say the 2001 Chevrolet Cavalier was traveling at a high speed just after midnight Sunday when the driver lost control in Columbia Township. Their report says the car went airborne as it sped over railroad tracks, went off the right side of the roadway, then swerved across the left side of the road, hit a ditch and tree, then flipped over.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol reports 18-year-old driver Jeffrey Chaya and passengers 17-year-old Blake Bartchak and 16-year-old Lexi Poerner have died.
An 18-year-old passenger is in critical condition at Cleveland Metro Health Medical Center. Southwest General Hospital wouldn't release information on a 17-year-old passenger.
