WAYNE TWP. — A retired Edgewood school teacher killed Tuesday, June 2, in a two-car crash just outside Jacksonburg died of head trauma and was not wearing a seat belt, according to a Butler County Coroner’s investigator.
Thomas Highley, 58, of West Elkton Road, was killed when his 2008 Hyundai Accent was struck at Cotton Run and Oxford-Middletown roads by a 2005 Toyota Corolla driven by 17-year-old Leeann Channell of Wayne Twp., who was not injured.
Butler County Sheriff’s officials are looking into the collision, and indicated their investigation may not be completed until next week. Once the investigation is done, all information will be turned over to the county prosecutor, who will determine whether charges are warranted, Lt. John Sons said Wednesday.
Sons said there is no indication that Channell, the daughter of Edgewood High School athletic director and football coach Steve Channell, was texting or talking on a cell phone at the time of the accident.
Condolences for the Highley family and support for the Channell family continued to pour in from the Edgewood community Wednesday. Many close friends, classmates and parents cautioned against passing judgment on Channell and pleaded for compassion and sensitivity for both families.
An autopsy performed Wednesday on Highley showed he died of head trauma, said Butler County Coroner Investigator Debbie Lacey. He was not wearing his seat belt, but the air bag deployed, she said.
A preliminary investigation indicates Channell was traveling south on Cotton Run when her vehicle entered the intersection and hit Highley’s vehicle, which then struck a concrete post and flipped onto its top.
Channell, who had her driver’s license a little more than a year and had no citations, took driver’s education classes at B-Safe Driving Education in Trenton.
Owner Betty Cepluch said she was an excellent student.
“I think if they do find she did make a mistake, I think it was just one of those driver errors.”
Arrangements for Highley are being handled by Breitenbach-McCoy-Leffler Funeral Home in Middletown.
