Ohio State Highway Patrol Investigates Fatal Crash in Meigs County

MIDDLEPORT, Ohio – Two people are dead following a Sunday night head-on crash near Middleport on State Route 7.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol is investigating a two-vehicle crash that occurred on State Route 7 near the intersection of Leading Creek Road and Bone Hollow Road on November 5, 2023 at around 9:08pm.

According to Mason County Sheriff’s Office Lt. C.A. Varian, a pursuit was initiated by Mason County Sheriff’s Office stemming from a reported domestic violence situation involving a weapon. Mason County deputies made contact with the suspect near Camp Conley in Mason County. According to Lt. Varian, the suspect fled with law enforcement then engaging in a pursuit.

The pursuit went from Point Pleasant, across the Ohio River into Gallia County and eventually ending in Meigs County according to Meigs County Sheriff Scott Fitch. Sheriff Fitch said stop sticks were deployed, but the suspect continued on Route 7 and eventually struck another vehicle head on.

According to a statement from the OSHP, a 2006 Ford Mustang driven by Zachary Jeffers, 30, of Rutland, Ohio was traveling nothbound on State Route 7 when it traveled left of center. The vehicle then struck a 2015 Hyundai Elantra head-on that was being driven by Zachary Carson, 33, of Athens, Ohio.

According to the Meigs County Sheriff’s Office, Jeffers was the alleged suspect involved in the pursuit.

According to the OSHP, Carson was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.

Jeffers was taken to the Holzer Meigs Emergency Department were he later succumbed to his injuries.

The crash remains under investigation.

Responding the scene were the Meigs County Sheriff’s Office, Mason County Sheriff’s Office, Pomeroy Police Department, West Virginia State Police, Point Pleasant Police Department, Meigs County Coroner, Meigs County EMS, Mason County EMS, Middleport Fire Department, Pomeroy Fire Department, Meigs County ODOT, Anderson-McDaniel Funeral Home, Stapleton’s Towing, Riverside Towing, and Westfall Towing Assisted at the scene.