Car crashes into cornfield

MARGARETTA TWP. — A man was arrested after he allegedly crashed his car and then fled on Wednesday night in Margaretta Township. Just after 7:30 p.m., first responders were called to the 9800 block of Sandusky-Clyde Road (Ohio 101) for the report of a rollover crash. They arrived to find a gray coupe crashed in a cornfield. The car suffered heavy damage, including a broken rear axle. The driver-side door was open, and the driver fled the scene. Deputies and firefighters searched the cornfield for about 30 minutes without success in locating the driver. One deputy used the department's drone to aid the search. Four firefighters then walked into a wooded area to the northwest of the farm field. Shortly thereafter, the alleged driver emerged from the forest and surrendered. The shirtless man told troopers that he was on his way home when the crash occurred. "We were heading south toward Clyde here," witness Brian Wager said. "This car here was heading north. It looks like they started going off the berm of the road here." Wager then said the driver overcorrected, spun around 180 degrees, then went back off-road, hit an embankment and landed in the cornfield. The road was closed for about 90 minutes while first responders searched for the driver and a tow truck removed the car from the field. In a news release, the Ohio State Highway Patrol identified the driver as a 33-year-old Sandusky man, who was issued a traffic citation. The patrol noted it believed alcohol was a factor in the crash, which remains under investigation.