The multi-vehicle accident Saturday afternoon at the 159.6 mile marker on Interstate 71 southbound near Bellville, involved a car going under a cable guardrail between the north and southbound lanes.

That raises the question of how a car could get under a safety barrier that's only inches above the ground.

Sergeant Jerry Botdorf of the Mansfield post of the Ohio Highway Patrol says the cable rail had been damaged in a previous accident, with several posts pulled out of their cement bases in the ground, allowing the car to pass underneath it.   

Sergeant Botdorf says the previous accident that damaged the cable rail occurred two to three weeks ago, and the Ohio Department of Transportation was notified, as is standard practice after state property is damaged in a car accident.   

While Botdorf is under the impression the cable rail was not repaired after the previous accident, Ohio Department of Transportation District Three Public Information Officer Christine Myers says it was repaired and they have the documentation to prove it.

She says this damage was caused by Saturday's crash, and it will be fixed as soon as possible.