Springfield Township police chief identifies officer killed in crash

SEVERE WEATHER IN YOUR AREA. BREAKING THIS MORNING, A SERIOUS CRASH INVOLVING A POLICE CRUISER EARLY THIS MORNING. IT ALL STARTED SHORTLY AFTER MIDNIGHT AND IT ENDED WITH THIS CRUISER UPSIDE DOWN. AND SADLY, WE NOW KNOW TWO PEOPLE WERE KILLED IN THIS CRASH. THIS ALL HAPPENED ON HAMILTON AVENUE NEAR THE RONALD REAGAN HIGHWAY. AND WHILE THE RESPONDING WHILE RESPONDING, ANOTHER OFFICER CRASHED ON SPRINGDALE ROAD IN COLE RANGE TOWNSHIP, WLWT NEWS 5. LACEY ROBERTS IS LIVE THIS MORNING LEADING THE WAY FOR US WITH THE VERY LATEST. LIZZIE. YEAH, GOOD MORNING, STEPHEN. THE SCENE HERE JUST CLEARED ABOUT 5 MINUTES AGO, BUT THIS IS A VERY SCARY SCENE, A VERY ACTIVE SCENE. AND LIKE YOU SAID, RIGHT HERE ON HAMILTON AVENUE, JUST A FEW MILES DOWN FROM WHERE THAT KROGER IS, A FEW MILES AHEAD OF THIS AREA. IT WAS WHERE THIS CAR AS IVAN. WE’RE GOING TO SHOW YOU SOME VIDEO FOOTAGE OF WHAT THAT SCENE LOOKED LIKE. THAT’S WHERE THAT CIVILIAN CAR AND THIS POLICE CRUISER COLLIDED. A VERY, VERY HEAVY DAMAGE TO THEM. WE SAW THEM BOTH TAKEN AWAY AND WE ALL SAW ABLE TO CONFIRM, LIKE YOU SAID, STEVEN, THAT TWO PEOPLE HAVE DIED FROM THIS INCIDENT. AND WE DO KNOW THAT THE POLICE CRUISER INVOLVED IN THIS INCIDENT WAS A SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP CRUISER. IN THAT INCIDENT. WE WERE TRYING TO FIGURE THAT OUT THIS MORNING, THOUGH. WE JUST ALL MULTIPLE POLICE AGENCIES HERE ON SCENE WE WERE SEEING NEAR COLLEGE HILL. WE’RE SEEING SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP. WE WERE ALSO SEEING THOSE INVESTIGATORS. SO THE ONLY QUESTION THAT WE DO NOT HAVE ANSWERED RIGHT NOW IS WHO’S GOING TO HANDLE THIS INVESTIGATION BETWEEN THOSE TWO AGENCIES? THAT’S SOMETHING THAT WE DO NOT KNOW AT THIS MOMENT. ALSO, WHAT WE DO NOT KNOW IS THOSE TWO PEOPLE’S NAMES THAT WERE INVOLVED IN THIS INCIDENT. WE ARE WORKING TO GET THAT INFORMATION IN. BUT WHAT WE DO KNOW RIGHT NOW IS THAT THIS INCIDENT HAS TURNED FATAL. TWO PEOPLE HAVE DIED, AND THAT’S ACCORDING TO THE HAMILTON COUNTY CORONER’S OFFICE. AGAIN, THIS STRETCH OF ROAD RIGHT HERE ON HAMILTON AVENUE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE CLOSED FOR A COUPLE MORE HOURS, BUT IT HAS JUST REOPENED. SO ANYONE THAT WAS MAKING DETOURS OR WAS TRYING TO GET ON RONALD REAGAN, YOU CAN DO DO DO THAT RIGHT NOW. BUT REPORTING LIVE RIGHT NOW HERE IN NORTH COLLEGE HILL, WE SEE ROBERT’S WLWT NEWS 5. LISA, I KNOW YOU WERE ABLE TO TALK TO POLICE. WHAT WAS KIND OF THE MOOD OR EMOTION WITH THEM? I KNOW THEY COULDN’T TELL US MUCH, BUT CERTAINLY YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU SEE A POLICE CRUISER BANGED UP LIKE THAT, NO MATTER OF THE DEPARTMENT, IT’S GOING TO AFFECT THE POLICE OFFICER THAT STEPHEN. THE MOOD WAS KIND OF FEELING LIKE THE WEATHER. VERY SOMBER, VERY DARK. YOU COULD TELL THAT THEY REALLY WANTED TO KNOW THE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS THAT WE WERE TRYING TO ASK THEM. SO VERY TIGHT LIPPED AT FIRST. AND THEN ONCE YOU SAW THEM TAKING THAT CAUTION TAPE DOWN, JUST SEEING THE LOOK ON EVERYONE’S FACES, KNOWING THAT ONE OF YOUR OWN IS INVOLVED, AND THEN ALSO LEARNING THAT THIS IS TURNED FATAL, YOU CAN OBVIOUSLY TELL THAT EVERYONE WAS JUST VERY SAD. SO DEFINITELY KEEPING ALL OF THESE OFFICERS IN OUR PRAYERS, ALL ALL THE FAMILIES INVOLVED AND JUST AGAIN, HOPING TO LEARN THE NAMES OF THESE TWO PEOPLE AND ALSO HOPING TO LEARN HOW THIS INCIDENT HAPPENED BECAUSE THAT’S ANOTHER THING THAT THEY ALSO DIDN’T TELL US. BUT IT HAS TO BE SOMETHING SERIOUS BECAUSE BOTH OF THOSE CARS WERE JUST VERY HEAVILY DAMAGED. AND LIKE YOU SAID, THAT CRUISER ROLLED OVER AND IT WAS ACTUALLY SITTING ON ITS TOP. AND WE GOT HERE LACEY RO

Springfield Township police chief identifies officer killed in crash

Updated: 11:52 AM EDT Mar 31, 2023

A Springfield Township police officer is dead along with the driver of another car after a crash in North College Hill Friday. It happened in the early morning hours Friday when two vehicles, one of them being a Springfield Township police cruiser, collided on Hamilton Avenue near the Ronald Reagan Highway.Police Chief Rick Bley said officer Tim Unwin died in the crash as well as the male driver of the other car involved. The department has turned the investigation over to the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department. Officials said due to the investigation, they won't be able to release the name of the other male driver who died at this time. Unwin was a 4-year veteran with the force, serving 2 years in city of Hamilton and 2 years in Springfield Township. "It's an extremely emotional and sad day," Bley said.

CINCINNATI —

A Springfield Township police officer is dead along with the driver of another car after a crash in North College Hill Friday.

It happened in the early morning hours Friday when two vehicles, one of them being a Springfield Township police cruiser, collided on Hamilton Avenue near the Ronald Reagan Highway.

Police Chief Rick Bley said officer Tim Unwin died in the crash as well as the male driver of the other car involved.

The department has turned the investigation over to the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department. Officials said due to the investigation, they won't be able to release the name of the other male driver who died at this time.

Unwin was a 4-year veteran with the force, serving 2 years in city of Hamilton and 2 years in Springfield Township.

"It's an extremely emotional and sad day," Bley said.