Area man killed by truck on U.S. 127

CELINA - A 28-year-old Celina man walking near the middle of a highway was struck and killed by a semitrailer early Saturday morning.

Brendan S. McKinney was pronounced dead at the scene on U.S. Route 127, just north of Celina in Jefferson Township, Mercer County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Martin Emerine told The Daily Standard.

Mercer County Central Dispatch received a 911 call at 3:14 a.m. Saturday of a traffic crash on U.S. Route 127.

The investigation revealed that McKinney was walking on U.S. Route 127, near the middle of the roadway, when he was a struck by a southbound 2023 blue International semitrailer driven by Rodolfo R. Garcia, 52, Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Garcia was reportedly uninjured.

"We're really not sure what he was doing," Emerine said when asked why McKinney was walking near the middle of the road in the early morning. "That's part of what we'll be looking into a little bit further, maybe try to trace back where he was at and where he was coming from and how did he find himself walking down the middle of the road."

Emerine said it's his understanding that McKinney was staying at Hand-Up Village, a temporary community designed to help people get back on their feet, located behind Abounding Grace Ministries.

Weather conditions are not believed to be a factor in the accident as the few inches of snow that accumulated over the weekend didn't start falling until several hours after McKinney was struck by the semitrailer.

As to whether drugs and/or alcohol played a role in the incident, Emerine said he couldn't answer that question in regard to McKinney at this time, but said "we don't believe there was any alcohol involved with the semi driver."

The incident remains under investigation. In accordance with office policy and protocol, the case will be forwarded to the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office for review.

"There's some things that need to be followed up on, obviously, to just kind of tie up some loose ends," Emerine said.

Also assisting at the scene were the Celina Fire Department/Emergency Medical Services, the Celina Police Department, Ohio Department of Transportation and Mercer County Emergency Response Volunteers.

McKinney had a wife, Brittany, and four children, was employed at Crown Equipment Corporation in Celina and was a member of Cross Community Church in Elyria, according to his obituary in today's edition.