3 from family, 2nd driver killed in crash ID'd

A Bromley husband and wife and the wife's sister traveling in one car and the driver of the second car were killed in a crash in Fort Wright on Tuesday.

Sarah Willis, 70, was driving west when a car headed east, driven by Kenneth Hartsock, 48, of Edgewood, crossed lanes and struck her vehicle just before 3 p.m. Her husband, John Willis, 79, was in the rear seat, and emergency responders tried to save him but he died there. Her front-seat passenger was her sister, Gloria Roaden, 72, of Ludlow.

Hartsock was the only one in his vehicle.

Hartsock was driving in the emergency strip and skimmed along the guardrail before abruptly turning left and colliding with Willis' car which was westbound on Highland Pike near Reeves Drive, police said.

While the cause of the crash remains unknown, the intersection of Reeves Drive and Highland Pike has been a safety concern for a while,  said Fort Wright Mayor Dave Hatter.

Elaine Armstrong, a neighbor of Sarah and "Jack" Willis, said she was stunned by the news of the crash.

"I didn't know until today it was them," Armstrong said, noting that she'd heard about the traffic crash on Tuesday. "I think it's a shame."

She estimated the couple lived on Shelby Street for about 15 years. Armstrong has lived there for 30 years.

"She (Mrs. Willis) was always out in her yard, working. It looked so nice," Armstrong said.

"Jack and Sarah, they were good people. They always took walks down to the end of my street," Armstrong said. "They will be missed."

She said the couple often went out to eat because Sarah Willis didn't cook much, and she wonders whether they were on their way home from a restaurant, with Sarah Willis' sister, Gloria.

The 45 mph speed limit on Highland and congestion contributes to crashes, officials have said. The spot where the crash occurred on Highland Pike climbs a steep grade into the side of a wooded hill. The three-lane road connects two busy intersections in the area. A few roads branch off into neighborhoods set back from the road. Two lanes head up the hill to Kyles Lane, which leads to Interstate 75. The single lane traveled by the single-occupant vehicle descends to Madison Pike and a collection of shopping centers.

Almost 16,000 vehicles a day drive on Highland between KY 17 and  Kyle’s Lane, according to the Kentucky Department of Transportation. Reeves is a side street along that corridor.