A multi-vehicle crash tore through a construction zone on southbound Interstate 75 at the Paddock Road exit Saturday night, trapping at least one person in a vehicle and sending two others to the hospital with injuries described as non-life-threatening. Traffic came to a complete stop for about two hours around 9 p.m. as crews worked the scene before the highway reopened.
Cincinnati police and fire officials said the crash happened in the construction zone on southbound I-75 at Paddock Road, according to FOX19. Fire officials reported that someone was trapped in at least one of the vehicles involved, and police said two people were taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. The posted speed limit through that construction zone is 45 mph, the station noted.
By early Sunday, southbound I-75 was open again at the Paddock Road exit, FOX19 reported, though the outlet did not specify the exact time crews cleared the roadway or how many vehicles were tangled up in the wreck.
A Stretch of Highway Already Under Heavy Construction
The crash site sits within an active work zone tied to the I-75 Mill Creek Expressway project, where contractors have been running evening and overnight restrictions for bridge painting, guardrail work and attenuator replacement, per i75 Exit Guide. Scheduled lane closures in the area have included a single left-lane closure on southbound I-75 between Paddock Road and the Norwood Lateral, and a right-lane closure between the Ronald Reagan Cross County Highway and Paddock Road, both running from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. on different nights, the same source reported. The City of Cincinnati has also said ramps connecting to Paddock Road would close overnight on other nights as part of the broader project, contingent on weather, according to the city's own traffic alert.
This is not the only recent crash to snarl southbound I-75 near a construction zone in the area. A separate crash near St. Bernard and the Norwood Lateral sent three people to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center and shut the highway down for hours, with the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office saying a 27-year-old driver rear-ended a construction vehicle before a second car, driven by a 40-year-old, struck the first, as reported by WCPO. In that incident, the 27-year-old was in surgery while the other two people involved suffered non-life-threatening injuries, and the highway did not reopen until 6:05 a.m., WCPO reported. That crash is separate from Saturday night's incident at Paddock Road.
A Statewide Pattern of Rising Work Zone Crashes
Saturday's crash lands amid a broader trend of work zone collisions across Ohio. Crashes in construction zones statewide had been falling for several years, dropping from nearly 4,800 in 2021 to just over 4,000 in 2024, before climbing back up to more than 4,400 in 2025, according to Spectrum News 1. Preliminary figures cited by the station showed 477 work zone crashes occurred between January and March alone. Speeding, distractions and following too closely remain the leading factors behind these crashes, the outlet reported.
An Ohio Department of Transportation press secretary urged drivers to stay alert, avoid distractions, maintain a safe following distance and obey posted speed limits in work zones, Spectrum News 1 reported. No cause has been determined for Saturday's crash at Paddock Road, and officials have not released the number of vehicles involved or identified anyone hurt in the collision.
