This is a sad story of a father who put off brake repair until it was too late. According to sources, he knew there was a problem and was scheduled to take it to a mechanic in two days.
Officials release cause of fatal rollover crash in Campbell
The only effective brake assembly had about 1 percent of padding left.
CAMPBELL, Ohio (WKBN) – The Ohio State Highway Patrol determined the cause of the rollover crash that left a father and son dead in Campbell on Thursday.
State troopers investigating the deadly crash are now saying 41-year-old Mike Pickett’s Jeep had virtually no brakes and he most likely knew about that for some time.
“This was not a case of faulty brakes. This was a case of poor maintenance,” Sgt. Brian Holt said.
Troopers said Pickett lost control of the Jeep last Thursday morning while coming down the Sixth Street hill near Wilson Avenue.
He and his 11-year-old son, Marcus, were killed while his 12-year-old daughter, Leena, somehow survived despite being thrown from the vehicle. Neither Pickett nor Leena were wearing seatbelts.
“We believe he went off the road to find resistance but at that point, he’d picked up so much momentum and immediately went airborne. There was no stopping the vehicle,” Holt said.
Investigators said Pickett had just dropped three other children off moments before the crash and was taking Marcus and Leena to Lowellville, where they went to school.
Troopers said three of the brake assemblies on his Jeep had no pads at all and the fourth showed just 1 percent left.