Two people were killed this morning when the car they were riding in was struck by a dump truck that ran a red light on U.S. 27 at West Kemper Road, police said.

The accident, reported at 8:44 a.m., was the latest in a long line of traffic fatalities at the intersection despite efforts to improve safety, the Colerain Township fire chief said.

According to the Hamilton County sheriff's office and Colerain Township police, a dump truck driven by James A. Randall, 60, of Cincinnati, was northbound on U.S. 27 approaching the intersection with West Kemper Road.

A 1993 Honda Accord, being driven by Roderick E. Wallace, 27, of Cincinnati, was stopped facing south on U.S. 27, waiting to turn left onto the connector to West Kemper Road.

Police said Wallace began a left turn after observing a green arrow on the traffic signal. Randall failed to obey a red traffic signal and struck the Honda on the passenger side, authorities said. The Honda was pushed off the right side of the roadway and came to rest along the northbound lanes of U.S. 27.

Wallace and his passenger, identified as Brittany A. Hafner, 25, of Fairfield, were killed. Police said they were not wearing seat belts. Randall was taken to Mercy-Fairfield Hospital for observation.

The crash remains under investigation by the sheriff's traffic safety unit.

Colerain Township Fire Chief Bruce Smith said there have been so many accidents at the intersection that the Ohio Department of Transportation installed a traffic light in the past year. No detailed accident statistics were available Monday.

Southbound motorists on U.S. 27 have to cross oncoming, northbound lanes of traffic to exit onto Kemper Road, the chief said. The speed limit in that area is 60 miles an hour.

He said the intersection has had serious accidents since U.S. 27 was built about 40 years ago. He said it is like many other limited access highways throughout the county.

"When you have those higher speeds in rural areas, if people aren't completely aware of their surroundings and they turn left in front of someone - that's typically how these accidents happen - then you have almost a head-on or broadside accident," he said. "At that speed, those are almost always going to have serious consequences."

The new traffic light signals motorists when they can turn left toward Kemper Road and warns oncoming traffic to stop.

There are long-range plans to rebuild the intersection to include exit ramps on both sides of the highway, as well as another dangerous one nearby, U.S. 50 and East Miami River Road, Smith said.