Wayne County firefighter struck and killed while investigating I-71 crash

An accident yesterday afternoon near West Salem claimed the life of a firefighter from Wayne County.  35-year old Philip Wigal was on the scene of an earlier crash when he was struck and killed by a commercial vehicle.  It happened right around four o’clock in the southbound lanes of I-71, just south of the exit for State Route 301.  Wigal, who was pronounced dead at the scene, had been a member of the Town and County Fire District since 2006.  37-year old Steven Hill, a trooper with the Ashland Post of the Highway Patrol, was also hit by the vehicle and was taken to the hospital with non life-threatening injuries.  In addition to hitting Wigal and Hill, the commercial vehicle also struck the back of a fire engine, a Highway Patrol cruiser and the overturned semi from the initial crash.  The driver of the commercial vehicle, a 41-year old Florida man, suffered only minor injuries.  The crash remains under investigation.