COLUMBUS, Ohio — The National Transportation Safety Board is urging the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission to permanently close its low-speed manual toll lanes and move to fully electronic tolling after a fatal crash in northwestern Ohio. The recommendation follows an Aug. 15, 2024, collision on Interstate 80-90 near Swanton, west of Toledo. Investigators said an SUV traveling in a high-speed electronic toll lane abruptly slowed and moved toward a manual toll booth, entering the path of a truck pulling a trailer. The truck struck the SUV from behind and overturned. Two SUV passengers died. Neither was wearing a seat belt, according to the NTSB. The SUV’s driver, another passenger and the truck driver suffered serious injuries. Sulfonic acid carried by the truck spilled onto the roadway but did not injure anyone else. NTSB investigators said the plaza’s hybrid design — with vehicles moving at highway speeds alongside lanes requiring drivers to slow sharply for toll collection — created a significant risk of severe crashes. “This crash shows the deadly safety consequences of mixing high-speed electronic tolling with low-speed manual tolling lanes,” NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said. As part of its investigation, the agency reviewed three weeks of video from the toll plaza. It identified more than 1,000 last-minute lane changes, an average of about 52 per day, including maneuvers similar to the one involved in the fatal crash. The NTSB also recommended that the Federal Highway Administration issue guidance addressing the safety advantages of fully electronic tolling. Illinois and Pennsylvania converted their toll systems to fully electronic operations in 2020 and 2025, respectively. The safety board further advised the Ohio Turnpike to consider adding emergency access points. Investigators found that emergency responders faced difficulties reaching portions of the toll road quickly, a concern that could affect response times after crashes, fires or hazardous-material spills. The recommendations do not by themselves require the Turnpike to make the changes. Any permanent shift would require action by the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission, which operates the toll road. For drivers, a fully electronic system could reduce abrupt merges and braking near toll plazas, but it would also mean that all toll payments would be handled without staffed booths. The NTSB’s findings put the safety consequences of that policy choice at the center of the Turnpike’s next steps.