UPDATE: The Darke County Sheriff’s office was contacted by the Darke County Coroners office. On January 9th 2024 Mr. Jernigan had succumbed to his injuries from the accident.
On December 20, 2023 at approximately 7:57 p.m. Darke County Deputies along with New Madison Fire Department, Arcanum Rescue, Greenville Township Rescue and CareFlight were dispatched to the intersection of U.S. Route 127 and Hollansburg-Sampson Road in reference to an injury accident.
Preliminary investigation revealed a tan 2004 Ford Explorer driven by Lydia McGregor (20) of Trotwood, Ohio was traveling south on U.S. 127 when a black 2018 Dodge Charger driven by James Jernigan (37) of Greenville, Ohio, failed to yield for the stop sign traveling west on Hollansburg-Sampson Road at U.S. 127. Ms. McGregor’s vehicle struck Mr. Jernigan’s vehicle in the passenger side causing his vehicle to travel off the roadway and strike a utility pole before coming to rest in a field. Ms. McGregor’s vehicle also traveled off the roadway and struck the same pole before coming to rest. Mr. Jernigan was not wearing his seatbelt at the time of crash and had to be extricated by non-mechanical means.
Mr. Jernigan was ultimately transported to Miami Valley Hospital via CareFlight with suspected serious injuries. Ms. McGregor was transported to Wayne Healthcare with non-life threatening injuries.