BATH TOWNSHIP, Ohio – In a heartbreaking turn on a routine highway morning, 37-year-old Mazen Mammo from Madison Heights, Michigan, lost his life when his semi-truck erupted in flames after slamming into stopped traffic on Interstate 75.
The crash unfolded around 10:13 a.m. on September 10, just south of the State Route 81 exit in Allen County. According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Mammo was heading south in his 2021 Freightliner Cascadia when he rear-ended a stationary 2020 Volvo 860 semi driven by 63-year-old Nardini Salvatore of Jacksonville, Florida. The force of the impact shoved Salvatore’s rig forward into a third truck ahead – a 2017 Freightliner Cascadia operated by 73-year-old Jean Fervil from McDonough, Georgia – which had also come to a halt amid congested lanes.
What followed was chaos: Mammo’s vehicle burst into flames almost immediately, trapping him inside. Emergency crews rushed to the scene, battling the blaze and pulling him from the wreckage, but the injuries proved too severe. He was pronounced dead on site, his remains later handled by Allen Mortuary Services and taken to the Lucas County Morgue for further examination.
Salvatore and Fervil, shaken but stable, walked away with only minor injuries. Both were taken to Lima Memorial Hospital for checks and are on the mend, a small mercy in an otherwise grim day.
The wreckage told a story of devastation. All three semis sustained heavy damage, but Mammo’s was a total loss, reduced to a charred shell by the fire. Towing crews from Minich Towing, Miller Performance, and Beaverdam Fleet worked for hours to haul away the twisted metal, while southbound I-75 stayed closed well into the afternoon. Firefighters doused lingering hotspots, investigators combed for clues, and debris-clearing teams kept at it, snarling traffic for miles and turning a quick commute into a standstill for hundreds.
It took a village to respond. Bath Township Fire and EMS led the charge, backed by Lima Fire and EMS, Perry Township Fire and EMS, the Allen County Sheriff’s Office, the Coroner’s Office, Allen County EMA, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Even the Ohio Department of Transportation pitched in with traffic rerouting and cleanup support.
Troopers from the Lima Post are still piecing it together, looking into everything from road conditions and truck mechanics to what might have distracted Mammo in those final moments. No charges have surfaced yet, but the probe underscores how even a split-second lapse can turn deadly on these high-speed corridors.
Mammo’s passing hits hard – a father, a husband, a guy just trying to make the miles home. It’s a stark wake-up call about the perils lurking on our interstates, where massive rigs like these can turn tragedy in an instant.