Incident: Friday, October 16, 2026, about 6:37 a.m., at the intersection of State Route 51 and State Route 795 in Ottawa County, Ohio.
Clay Township Police Sergeant Jacob Roesler, 26, was killed Friday morning in a crash while he was responding to a separate crash, the Clay Township Police Department said.
According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Sandusky Post, Roesler was driving a Clay Township Police Department Ford Explorer cruiser south on State Route 51 with its emergency overhead lights activated. The cruiser entered the intersection with State Route 795 and was struck by a Chevrolet Tahoe.
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Both vehicles went off the southeast corner of the intersection. The cruiser hit a metal pole, and the Tahoe hit a telephone pole, the patrol said.
Roesler was pronounced dead at the scene. The Tahoe’s driver, a 41-year-old man, was taken by ground ambulance to ProMedica Bay Park Hospital with minor injuries, according to the patrol.
The patrol said the crash remains under investigation.
“It is with heavy hearts that we share the loss of Sergeant Jacob Roesler, who was involved in a fatal crash this morning while responding to a separate crash,” the Clay Township Police Department said. The department said Roesler “made a lasting impact on our department and the community he swore to protect,” and that he “loved the outdoors, his family, friends, and his dog.”
Roesler served with the Clay Township Police Department for three years. Ohio’s attorney general said Roesler “served the Clay Township community honorably and with an unwavering dedication,” and called his death “a heartbreaking reminder of the dangers that law enforcement officers face every day.”
The department said funeral arrangements will be announced when they are available.
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