PEDRO — A Pedro man is dead and another hospitalized after a single vehicle crash just before 6 p.m. Friday on State Route 93 in Elizabeth Township.

John R. Markel, 62, of Pedro was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash by the Lawrence County Coroner’s office.

The driver, Nathaniel Bloomfield, 27, also of Pedro, was taken first to King’s Daughters Medical Center in Ashland, Ky., and later transferred to St. Mary’s Medical Center in Huntington, W.Va. He was listed in critical/stable condition as of press time Saturday.

Ohio Highway Patrol troopers said Bloomfield’s vehicle had been traveling northbound when it lost control, went off the right side of the roadway and struck a tree.

Both occupants were ejected from the vehicle because they were not properly wearing safety belts, a trooper said.

The accident occurred near mile post 12 in Elizabeth Township.

The crash remains under investigation by the Ohio State Highway Patrol crash reconstruction unit.