Per driver Kyle Smith’s own admission, he had traveled the area many times, avoiding the Lisbon Street underpass as he knew that his full-sized RV wouldn’t be able to pass through safely as it was too tall. 

Smith, of Eagleton Road, alleged that he had been distracted as he was talking on the phone through his Bluetooth when he approached the underpass and forgot, wedging the RV beneath it around 3:48 p.m. and splitting the vehicle in half, according to witnesses. 

Columbiana EMS responded and evaluated Smith, who refused transport to a hospital and admitted being on his way to a Narcotics Anonymous retreat at Best Western with his dog when the crash occurred, according to the report supplemental. 

He had been clean since 1987, but as time went on, his behavior seemed to escalate, becoming agitated and noncompliant. 

A first responder surveys damage to an RV, which exceeded the 10-foot, 4-inch height maximum of the Lisbon Street underpass Friday afternoon in Columbiana, becoming wedged and ripping off the roof of the vehicle. The vehicle’s driver, Kyle Smith of Lisbon was subsequently charged with OVI and failure to maintain an assured clear distance, according to a city police report. (Submitted photo)

Investigators repeatedly warned him about wandering throughout the crash scene while fire and tow personnel worked to pull the RV from the underpass. 

At one point, the officer states, “(Smith) walked onto the road toward his RV, as it was being pulled out a second time. As he was approaching the RV, the side fell apart and onto the roadway resulting in debris going everywhere. (He) continuously put himself in dangerous situations despite being advised to stay back.”

Due to his erratic behavior and red, glassy eyes noted earlier, Smith was asked to perform standardized field sobriety and Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) tests and was determined not fit to drive. He was subsequently arrested for OVI with the suspicion that he was under the influence of narcotics.

Although he consented to provide a urine sample for testing back at the police station, he was unable to provide one within the allotted testing window. 

Smith currently is scheduled for a pretrial in April, was advised of his license suspension and was released to a female friend.

The underpass in question is owned by Norfolk Southern, which sent personnel to evaluate it for possible damages.