Tagged: Ohio State Highway Patrol

The State Highway Patrol says increased efforts to crack down on drug trafficking and other crimes are paying off with more calls from the public to its revamped hotline and greater use of its unit that follows up on tips and helps other agencies.

The #677 number replaced the old hotline a year ago. The patrol gets more than 4,000 calls per month and has begun trying to track more specifically how many come through the hotline.

Authorities say a southwest Ohio highway pileup involving at least 86 vehicles has left a 12-year-old girl dead.

The Interstate 275 crash was one of at least four pileups that snared dozens of vehicles in the state on Monday. Parts of the state saw scattered snow showers, with isolated pockets of heavier snowfall.

The girl died in the I-275 pileup near the Cincinnati suburb of Colerain Township. At least 20 injured people were taken to hospitals.