Man, 65, killed in motorcycle accident

DUBLIN TOWNSHIP - A 65-year-old Rockford man was killed on Saturday afternoon after he reportedly lost control of his motorcycle and struck a pole in northern Mercer County.

Vincent E. Blossom was driving a 2020 gray Indian motorcycle southbound on Smith Road, north of State Route 117, in Dublin Township when he failed to negotiate a curve, ran off the east side of the roadway and struck a pole, according to a news release from Mercer County Sheriff Jeff Grey.

Mercer County Central Dispatch received a 911 call about the crash at 4:17 p.m. Saturday.

Blossom, who was not wearing a helmet, was pronounced dead at the scene, marking the fourth fatal vehicle accident in Mercer County in 2024.

The crash remains under investigation and will be forwarded to the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office for review, a standard protocol for all fatal accidents, Grey said.

The sheriff's office was assisted at the scene by Rockford Emergency Medical Services and Rockford Fire Department.

It's shaping up to be a deadly year in terms of vehicle accidents in Mercer County.

• Andrew Taylor, 17, of Celina died Jan. 20 at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, following a Jan. 18 car accident in Hopewell Township.

Taylor was driving a tan 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee westbound on Fast Road when the vehicle reportedly went off the right side of the pavement and struck two trees at 5191 Fast Road, just west of Hoenie Road, according to sheriff's office Sgt. Rachel Heinl.

A Lutheran Air medical helicopter, which touched down in a nearby field, flew Taylor to St. Rita's Medical Center in Lima. He was later transferred to Nationwide Children's Hospital, according to a news release from Grey.

• Dylan R. Bigelow, 25, of Rockford died of injuries suffered in a utility terrain vehicle accident shortly before 10 p.m. April 6 on Rockford West Road.

Bigelow was driving a 2019 black Polaris Turbo UTV eastbound on Rockford West Road when he went off the south side of the roadway and overcorrected, causing him to lose control and travel to the north side of the roadway, according to a news release from Grey. He then hit a ditch and was ejected from the UTV.

Bigelow was taken by ambulance to Van Wert Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

• Benjamin Ly, 14, of Celina died May 21 at Dayton Children's Hospital from injuries sustained in a two-vehicle accident on State Route 29, east of Fleetfoot Road, in Jefferson Township, on May 20.

Wesley Greber, 16, was reportedly driving a 2016 black Ford Focus westbound on State Route 29, while Gurpreet Puaar, 36, of Fresno, California, was driving a 2020 red Kenworth semitrailer eastbound.

For an unknown reason, Greber traveled left of center into the eastbound lane, striking Puaar's semitrailer, per a news release from Grey.

Ly, who was a front seat passenger in the Ford Focus, was airlifted from the scene by Lutheran Air to Dayton Children's Hospital in Columbus.

Puaar reportedly refused treatment at the scene. Greber was transported by ambulance to Mercer County Community Hospital in Coldwater with non-life threatening injuries and subsequently released later that night.  

• In neighboring Auglaize County, Ethan Brunswick, 18, of Celina was killed and his passenger seriously injured in a two-vehicle accident at the intersection of U.S. 33 and Bay Road in Moulton Township on April 25.

Brunswick was reportedly driving a 2010 Honda Accord eastbound on U.S. 33. Shane Thomason, 51, of Lima was driving a 2012 Kenworth tanker truck northbound on Bay Road, according to a news release from the Wapakoneta Post of the State Highway Patrol.

Thomason was turning left to travel west onto U.S. 33 when Brunswick's Honda struck the rear of the tanker truck at about 2:56 a.m., per the release.

Brunswick and his passenger, Gage Stein, 19, Celina, were both ejected from the Honda.

Brunswick reportedly succumbed to fatal injuries at the scene of the crash. Stein was transported from the scene via Careflight Air & Mobile Services to Miami Valley Hospital with serious injuries.

• Over in Darke County, a Versailles teen on May 17 succumbed to injuries from an ATV accident that occurred the day before.

Damian Bruns, 18, was driving a 2021 Polaris Razor in a field when "it lost control and rolled several times," according to a Darke County Sheriff's Office news release.

At about 11:24 p.m. May 16, sheriff's office deputies, North Star Fire, Ansonia Rescue and Careflight were reportedly dispatched to the 7100 block of Goubeaux Road.

Bruns was flown by Careflight to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton where he was pronounced dead, per the release. His passenger, Carley Graves, 18, of Bradford was transported by Ansonia Rescue to Wayne ER with non-life-threatening injuries.

Neither Bruns nor Graves were wearing safety belts or helmets at the time of the accident, according to the release.