Driver identified in fatal crash

GROTON TWP. — One person is dead after a fatal crash on Ohio 99 in Groton Township Monday afternoon. Just before 2:50 p.m., a Honda sedan, driven by Craig R. Griffith, 63, failed to yield at a Harris Road stop sign and drove into the path of a Mack truck hauling a dumpster, according to a press release from the Ohio State Highway Patrol. The sedan came to a rest in a field west of Ohio 99. Griffith, from Massillon, was wearing his seatbelt but died as a result of his injuries. Griffith was trapped inside the sedan and had to be extricated by Groton Township firefighters using power tools. Erie County Coroner Brian Baxter arrived on scene and attempted to obtain a blood sample from the sedan's driver. He then released the body to Pfeil Funeral Home. Alcohol or drug use is not suspected as a factor, the release states. The driver of the other vehicle, a Mack Granite truck, was also wearing his seatbelt and was not injured in the crash. Both of the involved vehicles suffered disabling damage and were towed from the scene. That stretch of Ohio 99 was closed for approximately three hours as crews cleaned the scene, towed the vehicles and conducted a crash investigation.