Holmes County Officials Seek Safety Solutions After Fatal E-Bike Crash

Jason L. Yoder, 30, of Sugarcreek was wearing a reflective vest and had an operable rear flashing light when he was killed on State Route 39 just after 5 a.m. on March 4. Neither precaution was enough. One month after his death, Holmes County officials and commissioners are pressing for safety improvements on a corridor that has claimed multiple e-bike riders' lives in recent years, while acknowledging no straightforward solutions have emerged.

The crash unfolded in a chain reaction in Walnut Creek Township, east of Township Road 420. Yoder was riding his Delsol electric bicycle westbound on the road's berm when he attempted a left turn into the driveway of Sharon Mennonite Church, crossing into the path of a 2007 Jeep Wrangler driven by 27-year-old Anthony Parson of Stone Creek. After the initial collision, Parson stopped on the south berm and got out to check on Yoder, who had come to rest in the eastbound lane. Seconds later, a 2004 Honda Accord driven by a 55-year-old Millersburg man struck both men. Yoder was pronounced dead at the scene. Parson was seriously injured and hospitalized. The Holmes County Sheriff's Office investigated alongside Sugarcreek Fire and EMS and the Holmes County Coroner's Office.

Yoder's death was not an isolated event on that stretch of road. Maria Kempf, 27, of Fresno was killed in an e-bike crash at nearly the same hour on State Route 39, east of County Road 135, in August 2025. A Millersburg boy died in a separate e-bike crash along Route 39 in Walnut Creek Township in November 2022. Each crash shared common threads: pre-dawn darkness, no dedicated bike lane, and riders turning across traffic on a highway that carries fast-moving vehicles through the heart of Holmes County's Amish community.

Local leaders are now focused on two broad responses: education and road improvements. State Route 39 lacks bike lanes along most of its length through Holmes County, and the right-of-way in many sections is too narrow to accommodate widening. One infrastructure step already in motion involves a roundabout at the State Route 39 and County Road 114 intersection, funded through the Ohio Department of Transportation's Highway Safety Improvement Program and announced by State Rep. Mark Hiner (R-Howard) in January 2026. Hiner cited multiple fatalities at that intersection when announcing the grant. The construction timeline for that roundabout has not been publicly finalized.

The broader challenge officials face is the scale of e-bike use in the county. Holmes County's Amish population has adopted electric bicycles as a primary transportation tool, with riders commuting before dawn to farms, lumber yards, and worksites across terrain where buggies and horses once dominated. Riders can reach speeds above 20 mph on roads designed without them in mind.

For anyone traveling Route 39 now, the crash record points to specific risk windows. The three fatal e-bike crashes on that road all happened between 5 and 6 a.m., in low-light conditions, at or near driveway and intersection turn points. Drivers heading westbound at that hour should reduce speed through Walnut Creek Township and treat every berm rider as a potential left-turn threat. E-bike riders making early morning commutes should use front-facing white lights in addition to rear flashers, take turns at designated crossings rather than mid-berm pivots when possible, and consider delaying pre-dawn trips on Route 39 until infrastructure improvements are in place.

Residents who want to flag a specific road hazard or push for a safety review at a particular intersection can contact the Holmes County Engineer's Office through holmesengineer.org or reach the Holmes County Sheriff's Office at 330-674-1936. The next Holmes County Commissioners meeting is open to the public and is the appropriate venue for residents wanting to press the timeline on road safety measures.