A 49-year-old Greenwich man was killed Monday night when an 18-year-old driver failed to stop at a posted stop sign in rural Huron County, sending a pickup truck slamming into the side of his Dodge Ram. Timothy Williams was pronounced deceased at the scene, while the teen driver was taken to a hospital with only minor injuries.
The crash happened at 8:29 p.m. Monday at the intersection of Peru Olena Road and Old State Road in Bronson Township, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol Norwalk Post. As reported by New London Newsroom, the driver, later identified by the Norwalk Reflector as 18-year-old Spencer Brotzki of Monroeville, was heading westbound on Peru Olena Road in a 2012 Ford F-350 when he did not stop at the posted stop sign, according to the patrol statement. Williams was traveling southbound on Old State Road in a 2016 Dodge Ram 3500 when Brotzki's truck struck the driver's side of his vehicle.
The impact sent both vehicles off the roadway toward the southwest, and the Ram struck two traffic signposts before coming to rest, per the patrol account. Williams sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced deceased by the coroner, the patrol said. Brotzki was transported to Fisher-Titus Medical Center by North Central EMS with minor injuries, the same account notes.
Rural Intersection Sits Six Miles South of Norwalk
The intersection sits in a rural stretch of Huron County roughly six miles south of Norwalk, the Norwalk Reflector reports. Peru Olena Road is a primary county roadway overseen by the Huron County Engineer's Office, which handles infrastructure maintenance and bridge projects there, according to planning documents published by the county engineer. The intersection features posted stop signs on Peru Olena Road, per the same reporting.
The roadway and intersection were temporarily closed during the investigation but have since reopened for vehicular traffic. The Ohio State Highway Patrol Norwalk Post was assisted at the scene by the Norwalk Fire Department, the Huron County Sheriff's Office, North Central EMS, Interstate Towing, the Huron County Department of Transportation, and the Huron County Coroner. The crash remains under active investigation.
What Ohio Law Says About Fatal Stop-Sign Crashes
No mention has been made by investigators of alcohol or drug impairment in connection with the crash. Under Ohio Revised Code Section 4511.43, drivers approaching a stop sign are required to come to a complete stop and yield to any vehicle on the intersecting road close enough to pose an immediate hazard, with standard violations classified as minor misdemeanors. But under Ohio Revised Code Section 2903.06, a fatal crash caused directly by a minor traffic violation such as running a stop sign can be charged as vehicular manslaughter, typically a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail; higher felony charges would apply only if recklessness or intoxication is proven. Whether prosecutors will pursue charges once crash reconstruction is complete remains an open question.
Brotzki was a student-athlete at Monroeville High School who made the academic honor roll in 2023 and competed in track and field high jump events in May 2025, according to prior Norwalk Reflector reporting.
Latest in a String of Deadly Huron County Crashes
The fatality adds to a string of deadly crashes on Huron County roads this year. Five weeks earlier, 53-year-old Scott Wilkes of West Salem died in a separate crash on Dublin Road south of Norwalk on July 10, according to WTOL. Huron County recorded 1,280 total motor vehicle crashes across its roadways in 2025, per crash data published by the Review Times.
Statewide, Ohio roadways logged 5,804 fatal traffic crashes resulting in 6,259 deaths between 2020 and 2024, according to multi-year safety data from the Ohio State Highway Patrol, which reports that failure to yield and seatbelt non-use remain leading factors in fatal collisions. The Norwalk Post has investigated other fatal rural crashes in the county recently, including an April 2025 incident in Greenfield Township where a 35-year-old Amherst man died after his car struck a ditch and tree on State Route 61, a case in which speed and alcohol were flagged as potential factors.
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