Symmes Township felt a deep, quiet sorrow on Wednesday afternoon when 23‑year‑old Peyton Kaylor of Maineville was struck and killed by a vehicle along Fields Ertel Road near Interstate 71. What began as an ordinary winter afternoon turned into a tragedy no family should endure.
Emergency crews were called to the 9000 block of Fields Ertel Road just before 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. First responders arrived to find Kaylor badly injured. The Loveland‑Symmes Fire Department rushed him to Bethesda North Hospital, where he later died from his injuries at 4:47 p.m.
The driver who struck Kaylor stayed at the scene and has been cooperating with investigators from the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office. So far, authorities say there is no evidence that excessive speed or impairment played a role in the collision, but the investigation is ongoing.
Friends and family are left grappling with the shock of losing someone so young. Kaylor was only 23, a life full of promise and plans cut short in a moment no one saw coming. There have been no public statements from loved ones yet, but community members have described the loss as heartbreaking.
Officials are urging anyone who saw the crash or has information that could help piece together what happened to reach out to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Safety Unit at (513) 825‑1500. Even small details or video from nearby could prove important.
This incident underscores the shared risks of roads like Fields Ertel, which see a mix of fast traffic and pedestrian movement near major highways. Local leaders have been looking at ways to make areas like this safer, including plans for sidewalks in parts of Symmes Township meant to keep pedestrians out of the travel lanes.
As investigators work to understand exactly what led to the collision, the community remembers Peyton Kaylor not just as a statistic, but as a young man whose loss will be felt by many. Roads can change lives in an instant. For the Kaylor family and friends, that change came with unimaginable grief.
