Thursday, August 5th, 2010

Minster woman dies in traffic crash

By Shelley Grieshop
AUGLAIZE COUNTY - A 39-year-old Minster woman was killed after she lost control of her van on Glynwood-New Knoxville Road near Wapakoneta on Wednesday afternoon.
Christa D. Ernst was pronounced dead at Joint Township District Memorial Hospital, St. Marys, following the single-vehicle accident at 3:04 p.m. Ernst reportedly was ejected from her 1998 Pontiac Transport; she was not wearing a seat belt.
The report from the Wapakoneta post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol said Ernst was driving south on Glynwood-New Knoxville Road, south of Washington Pike, when she drove off the right side of the road. She reportedly overcorrected, came back onto the roadway and traveled again off the right side of the road where the van struck a ditch and overturned.
The crash remains under investigation by the state patrol. Assisting at the scene was the New Knoxville Fire Department and St. Marys City Rescue Squad.
Ernst's death marks the third traffic fatality in Auglaize County this year. Hogenkamp Funeral Home, Minster, is handling arrangements.
Ernst is survived by her husband, Mike Jr., and three children. She was a former area school teacher. Mike Ernst is the head basketball coach for New Bremen High School and an Eldora Speedway sportswriter for The Daily Standard.
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CELINA - Reconstruction of Main Street is scheduled to begin Monday, and at least two blocks will be closed to all vehicles, Celina Planning and Community Development Director Kent Bryan said. [More]
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