Oh, buckle up for this one—because it’s not just another “oops, wrong exit” kind of story. This is a crash-course lesson in what “not” to do behind the wheel, courtesy of a red minivan driver in Ohio who redefined reckless on Interstate 71.
Picture it: Wednesday evening, traffic’s cruising along smoothly near downtown Columbus. Everyone’s just trying to get home or to happy hour or wherever folks go at 5:25 p.m.—until this one driver decides to turn the center lane into his own personal GPS rerouting session.
Here’s how it went down. In video footage shared by the Ohio Department of Transportation (and honestly, thank goodness for traffic cams), this minivan just “stops” in the center lane. Like, no hazard lights, no “oops” wiggle, just a dead stop. He then throws on his turn signal—because “that’s” going to fix everything—and tries to cut across lanes to hit the I-670 exit toward Dayton. Classic panic move, right?
But traffic doesn’t work that way. A gray SUV and a white SUV managed to brake just in time behind him, but that third vehicle—a gray van—wasn’t so lucky. Boom. It slams into the white SUV, which then launches into the gray one.
It’s like human dominoes with two tons of metal apiece. The gray SUV even goes spinning from the impact. And yes, it was all because one guy didn’t want to miss his exit.
Now, here’s the kicker. After setting off the chain reaction, what does the red minivan do? Oh, he just slips away. Slides over to the shoulder like nothing happened and takes that exit he “had” to make. No damage to his vehicle. No pause to check if anyone’s okay. Just gone.
As of Thursday, there’s no crash report available, so we don’t even know if the guy’s been identified. No charges filed. No accountability yet. Just a pileup and a van-shaped mystery.
NEW: Individual driving a red van stops in the middle of Interstate 71 in Ohio to merge into an exit lane, causing a multi-car pileup before driving off.
This makes my blood boil.
The footage was shared by the Ohio Department of Transportation.
“If you miss your exit, do NOT… pic.twitter.com/piDUqCZtYc
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) May 1, 2025
The good news? Miraculously, there were no life-threatening injuries reported. Ohio Department of Transportation’s Matt Bruning confirmed that and posted the video with one of the simplest but most important pieces of driving advice ever: “If you miss your exit, do NOT do this. Ever.”
It’s honestly infuriating how a moment of thoughtlessness can ripple into chaos on a highway. One bad decision at 65 miles per hour affects dozens of people in an instant. So here’s your PSA for the day, folks: “Take the next exit. Always take the next exit.” Your schedule isn’t worth someone else’s bumper—or their life.
