Apison truck driver jailed in Ohio after causing major wreck

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ohio — Authorities in Jefferson County, Ohio say a truck driver from Apison in Hamilton County, Tennessee is facing charges after causing a wreck early Thursday morning.

To make matters worse, his 9-year-old daughter was with him in the vehicle. The driver, 46-year-old Anthony Ashe, is now in custody, and his daughter is with child protective services. Neither was seriously hurt in the crash.

“It’s not common to find a driver, a professional driver out here, that's impaired,” said Sgt. Jeff Bernard of the Ohio State Highway Patrol. “We do have it, but it's not a common thing.

“He was obviously impaired. He admitted that he had been drinking. There was odor coming from him. There were different field sobriety tests that were given to him that showed us he was impaired."

State troopers say Ashe lost control as he negotiated a turn traveling eastbound, taking out a number of power lines in the process -- with his 9-year-old daughter in tow.

"We don't see that too often where drivers have children with them," Bernard said.

Thankfully, neither Ashe, nor his daughter, were injured in the accident. Bernard says they are fortunate it didn't turn out worse.

"It was unfortunate to see that her father chose to drive like that at any time, but with her in the vehicle, it could have been a tragedy," Bernard said.

Ashe is being held in the Jefferson County Jail. His daughter is in custody of social services until other family is contacted.

The highway where the wreck happened has since reopened.

NewsChannel 9 has confirmed that Ashe was driving for Map Transportation at the time of the crash.

This is a developing story. Depend on NewsChannel 9 to bring you updates as we get them.