Two small children rescued from burning vehicle in crash; OVI suspected

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) – Two infants were rescued from a burning vehicle during the crash at the intersection of State Route 4 and Hawk Road on Friday night.    According to the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office, the crash happened at approximately 11:50 p.m. involving reported injuries and a vehicle on fire.  Officials said Deputy Walter was first on scene and saw two babies were trapped inside the vehicle. The next to arrive was Deputy B. Ramsey, who said the fire was coming from the front of the vehicle, which was behind a fence.  They rapidly tried to open the back door, but couldn’t. Deputy Ramsey reportedly broke the back window and went into the vehicle. He used a fire extinguisher to combat the flames and used rescue shears to cut one of the babies out of their car seat harness.  Then Medic Thad Davis helped free the baby and take them out through the window. This was seconds before the fire spread and engulfed the passenger compartment. The baby boy was airlifted to Nationwide Children’s Hospital; the baby girl was taken by medics to the same hospital.  “After the rescue, deputies made contact with the driver, identified as Anthony Blankenship, who showed signs of alcohol consumption. The Ohio State Highway Patrol responded to the scene and took Blankenship into custody for Operating a Vehicle Impaired (OVI),” wrote officials. A dog was in the vehicle but couldn’t be saved. Both deputies were injured and had minor smoke inhalation. Deputy Walter got minor burns during the rescue. The crash is under active investigation by the Ohio State Highway Patrol. 2 NEWS is working to learn more.