22-Year-Old Killed in Semi-Truck Collision on I-71

Residential District Next to I-71 in Grove City, OH - Aerial — Source: halbergman / Getty

A 22-year-old man is dead following an early Wednesday morning crash involving an SUV and a semi-truck on I-71 North near the I-670 interchange, Columbus police said.

Authorities say the crash happened around 1:40AM when a Nissan Rogue, for unknown reasons, came to a stop in the middle of the highway. An approaching semi-truck was unable to avoid the SUV, slamming into the rear of the vehicle.

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The driver of the SUV, identified as Jahara Tunkara, suffered life-threatening injuries and was transported to a nearby hospital. He was pronounced dead at 2:23AM.

The crash led to significant traffic delays, with both north and southbound lanes initially shut down. Southbound lanes reopened after about an hour. The northbound lanes remained closed for several hours due to fuel leaking from the semi-truck, reopening around 5:30AM. All lanes are fully open now.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation, and no other injuries have been reported.