19-year-old driver killed in Madison Township crash

MADISON TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WOIO) - A Madison Township crash claimed the life of the 19-year-old man behind the wheel on Friday night, police confirmed.

Madison Township Police said officers and Madison Fire went to the crash in the 2500 block of Dock Road at 7:37 p.m. on May 19.

First responders arrived to find a 2009 Honda Civic that crashed into two large trees on the west side with a driver trapped inside, Ofc. Ryan Shannon stated.

Firefighters had to extricate the driver, who was the only one in the car, said Shannon.

Shannon said the driver was taken to University Hospitals Geneva Medical Center.

A helicopter then flew him to MetroHealth Medical Center where he died from his injuries, Shannon confirmed.

Madison Township Police identified him as Matthew T. McCabe Jr. of Madison.

The severity of the crash led to the Lake Regional Traffic Crash Reconstruction Unit being called to the scene to assist with the investigation, Shannon said.

Shannon stated that the investigation’s preliminary findings showed McCabe was driving northbound behind two other cars on Dock Road.

As the other cars started slowing down, in anticipation of turning left into a private drive, McCabe tried to overtake both cars at the same time, according to Shannon.

But the front car then began to turn, which caused McCabe to swerve in order to avoid colliding with the second car, Shannon said.

McCabe’s car briefly went off the west side of the road before getting back on, Shannon stated, but evidence at the scene showed he appeared to have overcorrected and lost control of the car.

Shannon said after McCabe got back on the road, his car began to rotate counter-clockwise and went off the west side of Dock Road again.

His car crashed into two large trees before coming to a final stop, according to Shannon.

Speed is believed to be a factor in the crash at this point in the ongoing investigation, Shannon confirmed.

Dock Road was shut down between North Ridge Road and Chapel Road for about two hours as investigators processed and documented the crash scene.

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