SUV, Tractor-Trailer Crash Temporarily Closes Highway

Updated at 3:52 p.m.

Two people were taken to the hospital and the westbound lanes of Route 2 were closed for about an hour after an SUV crashed into a parked tractor-trailer today.

The crash occurred at 11:05 a.m. west of the Heisley Road exit. A Toyota FJ Cruiser ran into the back of the trailer's flatbed, according to the Mentor Fire Department.

The tractor-trailer was parked in a construction zone off the road, Mentor Police Lt. Tom Powers said.

Bystanders managed to get the driver of the Toyota out of his SUV before paramedics arrived. Firefighters took the man – Peter Nakavich, 55, of Concord Township – to Hillcrest Hospital in Mayfield Heights.

Nakavich had cuts on his hand and other minor injuries, Powers said.

Firefighters also took a construction worker who was working near the tractor-trailer when the crash happened to Lake West Medical Center in Willoughby.

The construction worker – Donald Davis, 52, of Norwalk – also had minor injuries, Powers said.

After the two people were taken to the hospital, other firefighters stuck around to clean up fluid and debris from the crash.

The westbound lanes of Route 2 reopened about an hour after the crash.