A Beaufort native and Marine Corps recruiter was expected to be released from an Ohio hospital Thursday after he was involved in a seven-vehicle crash Wednesday that killed three of his recruits.

Sgt. Charles Keene, 25, of Beaufort was driving four men to Cleveland for an enlistment ceremony when investigators say a truck hit their 2008 Pontiac G6 from behind and pushed it into traffic, where it was hit by several other vehicles. The collision killed three -- Zachery Nolen and Michael Theodore Jr., both 19, and 21-year-old Joshua Sherbourne. Keene and a fourth Marine applicant, Karl McDermont III, were hospitalized with injuries, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol. All of the recruits were from Ohio.

No immediate medical update was available for McDermont.

Lowell Keene, Charles' father, said Thursday that his son suffered a concussion and several deep cuts to his head.

"He's doing OK," Lowell Keene said by phone from Ohio. "He's really shaken up about the death of those three kids they recruited. That's pretty traumatic. It's such a tragedy. They were all great kids who wanted to serve their country, and for it to end that way is just very tragic."

Keene was expected to be released from the hospital Thursday, though he has little to no recollection of the accident, his father said.
"He doesn't remember anything about the accident and I hope he never does," Lowell Keene said. "He remembers them driving about a block or so before the accident and remembers being put on a backboard and loaded into a helicopter."

Jim Migliozzi of Ravenna, Ohio, was returning home after a day of fishing when his truck was hit.

"I saw cars scatter and I scooted through and the truck hit me again. It took out the whole back end of my truck," Migliozzi told the Associated Press.

None of the other injuries suffered in Wednesday's crash were serious.

No charges have been filed, the patrol said Thursday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.