Tragic Case of 'Chemical' Russian Roulette

From the Warren Tribune Chronicle in Warren, Ohio

A fatal car accident in Champion Township, Ohio is being attributed to “intoxication by inhalants.” Authorities have determined that a can of aerosol computer duster contributed to the August 3rd crash that claimed the life of a local teenager, and seriously injured two others.

The teens, acquainted through various athletic teams were on their way to grab fast food when the driver decided to make a quick stop at Wal-mart; purchasing cigarettes, gum, and a can of “dust remover manufactured for use on a computer keyboard.”

The accident report released earlier this week by the Ohio State Highway Patrol reveals that the vehicle’s driver, 17 year-old Christie Manchester, “inhaled about four bursts from the can over a short period of time, then got a blank stare on her face, her body became rigid, and the car went off the road and hit two trees.”

Manchester suffered severe head and neck trauma in the collision and was pronounced dead at the scene by rescue workers. Both female passengers survived the accident, as 18 year-old Ellen Becker who was seriously injured in the crash is reportedly in intensive care with “no feeling from her waist down,” while 17 year-old Kaylyn Barco was hospitalized and released early last week.

The cause of the accident “went unexplained for several days until a highway patrol trooper conducted an interview with Barco after she left the hospital,” in which she admitted that just prior to the crash Manchester, who was driving, took several huffs from a can of computer duster.

Barco also disclosed that the can was passed around the car several times for each to get high, telling police that “the next thing she knew they went off the road and hit the trees.”

Additional details into the cause of the accident will be released as soon as investigators finish interviewing 18 year-old passenger Ellen Becker. Ohio State Highway Patrol has yet to receive the results of Manchester’s blood tests, but believe neither alcohol nor speed played a role in the crash.

Televised news coverage of the accident can be viewed online at Fox8 News Cleveland.