Two people have died in separate crashes along Roberts Road near Hilliard since December 2025. Residents say the city of Columbus has not followed through on a promised safety study of the corridor.
The latest fatality came Aug. 28 when 19-year-old Aaden Owen Elswick was killed at Roberts Road and Potts Place. A Honda Civic turning left onto Potts Place collided with an eastbound Dodge Durango around 11:09 p.m., according to the Columbus Dispatch. Elswick was thrown from the vehicle and later died at OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital. Two other people were transported from the scene.
The crash shut down Roberts Road from Walcutt Road to Hilliard Rome Road, NBC4 reported. The investigation remained open as of Aug. 29.
Eight months earlier, on Dec. 24, 2025, Sherry Bauman was killed at Roberts Road and Windflower Road. A 2002 Chevy Suburban turning from Windflower onto Roberts collided with a westbound 2013 Chevy Silverado just before 1 p.m., according to ABC6. A second person was also transported.
The two crashes occurred at different intersections along the same corridor. Both involved left turns onto or across Roberts Road.
After Bauman's death, her daughter Jamie Bauman-Moran told NBC4 in December 2025 that growth in the area, including a new apartment complex, had made the road far busier without matching safety upgrades. "How many bad things have to happen before they understand that the traffic here is more than it can handle?" she said at the time.
Neighbor Laurelin Baurle launched a petition calling on Columbus to conduct a traffic study at the Roberts Road and Windflower Road intersection. The petition had nearly 600 signatures by Dec. 30, 2025. Baurle told NBC4 in December 2025 that she wanted at minimum a flashing yellow light to give drivers a moment's pause before entering the roadway.
A Columbus Division of Traffic Management spokesperson said in a statement to NBC4 in December 2025 that the city would study the intersection, evaluating traffic volumes, sight distance, roadway geometry and whether a traffic signal could reduce crashes.
As of Sept. 2, no public update on that study has appeared in city records or local news coverage. The Roberts Road corridor sits within Columbus city limits for traffic management purposes, meaning the Columbus Division of Traffic Management holds jurisdiction over intersection improvements, not the City of Hilliard.
10TV reported Sept. 2 that the intersection near Roberts and Windflower roads has seen multiple serious crashes within the past year.
Anyone with information about the Aug. 28 crash can call the Columbus Police Accident Investigation Unit at 614-645-4767 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-8477.
