Indiana Accident News

Car Accidents

• Chicago School Sued Over Bus Crash Involving Vomiting Driver
  Aug 10, 2010

  How safe are your children when they get on the school bus each morning? After a bizarre Chicago school bus crash in December of last year, many in Illinois are wondering.
  
  Akilah Giddings, the mother of a 13-year-old girl who attends a Cook County school, has filed a personal injury lawsuit against the Illinois Center School Bus Company. Her daughter, student Jacqual Calbert, seriously injured her ankle in a bus crash and was in a cast for four weeks following the accident.
  
  Cook County authorities say that the bus driver became sick while driving the vehicle and opened the door of the bus in order to vomit outside. However, he did not stop the vehicle when he became ill and tumbled out of the bus as he was leaning over to throw up. The unmanned bus then continued down the road and into a ditch, injuring several students. Giddings told reporters that she couldn’t believe the driver would not pull over if feeling sick and stated that she believes the negligence of the driver and the bus company caused her daughter’s injury. She filed the Illinois personal injury lawsuit on Monday at a Cook County Circuit Court. She is seeking $50,000 in damages.
  
  The Illinois Center School Bus Company, one of the largest bus companies in the nation, has declined to comment on the Chicago bus accident lawsuit, though Giddings’ Illinois personal injury lawyer says that an out-of-court settlement might be in the works.
  - 1 - 10

• Indiana Traffic Law Changes Go Into Effect: Move It & Move Over Laws
  Aug 09, 2010

  Attention Indiana drivers: there are a few more rules of the road to follow – and they have officially gone into effect as of August 1. Be sure you understand the new laws and follow them on our roads, highways, and interstates.
  
  The first new traffic law involves the 1999 “Move Over” law, which states that vehicles traveling on multiple-lane highways should move over into a far lane when passing a vehicle on the shoulder of the road, such as a police cruiser, emergency vehicle, tow truck, disabled vehicle, or abandoned vehicle.
  
  Originally, the “Move Over” law stated that motorists should slow down when passing a vehicle parked on the shoulder if they were not able to move into a far lane. One new change to the law requires that drivers slow down at least 10 miles per hour when passing vehicles on the shoulder if they are unable to move into a far lane. Another new change to the “Move Over” law expands the types of vehicles that motorists should move over for, adding recovery vehicles, road maintenance vehicles, and utility vehicles. Lawmakers hope that this new change to the law will further reduce the number of shoulder accidents on Indiana highways and interstates.
  
  Indiana lawmakers also added a new law, called the “Move It” law. This law states that motorists involved in a traffic accident that does not involve injury, fatality, entrapment, or the hazardous materials have a responsibility to move their damaged vehicles out of travel lanes and out of the way of oncoming traffic.
  - 2 - 10

• One Killed In Elkhart County Fourth Of July Accident
  Jul 18, 2010

  While Independence Day is certainly an event to be celebrated, it is also sadly a time when accidents happen. Many of these accidents involve speeding, alcohol, fatigued drivers, or irresponsible behavior, while others simply happen because there are more cars on the road, more outdoor activities, and more events.
  
  Over the Fourth of July holiday in Jackson Township, Indiana, a man was killed while attempting to unload a golf cart from a pickup truck. Authorities and the Elkhart Truth reported that 32-year-old Michael Corvin of Bristol, Indiana, was driving a golf cart out of the bed of a truck in a driveway along Indiana 15 when he drove into the roadway and was struck by a passing vehicle. The car accident, which took place on Sunday afternoon, July 4, involved an SUV driven by 24-year-old Christa Sharp of Milford, IN. Sharp had moved into the far lane of traffic to pass a slower vehicle at the time of the fatal Indiana car accident.
  
  Corvin was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident by emergency responders. No one has been charged or ticketed in relation to the crash. Elkhart County’s Fatal Alcohol Crash Team is investigating the car accident although it is unclear whether alcohol played a role in the crash. The investigation took police about four hours and traffic on Indiana 15 between County Road 50 and U.S. 6 was halted for about two hours.
  - 3 - 10

• Fiery Clark County Crash On I-265 Leaves Five Seriously Injured
  May 25, 2010

  A dramatic crash on Interstate 265 in Clark County resulted in five people being rushed to the hospital with serious injuries and a closed interstate as police investigated this Indiana car crash. Three passersby, including one off-duty Jeffersonville police officers are being hailed as heroes after pulling two victims from their car before it burst into flames after the accident.
  
  According to the Jeffersonville News & Tribune, a car containing 31-year-old Jason Baker and 34-year-old Linda Needler, both of Charlestown, was driving down I-265 when the car suddenly swerved across the median and ran into oncoming traffic. The car struck a Pontiac containing 28-year-old Glennisha Odom, of Louisville, 27-year-old Erica Palmer, and 16-year-old Natascia Leonard, all of Louisville. The second car also contained two babies that were secured in child safety seats.
  
  The occupants of the first car were unconscious and pulled to safety by JPD Officer Thomas Mitchell, Mike Dean, of Charlestown, and Fred Morales, of Jeffersonville. Moments later, the car was consumed by flames.
  
  Baker and Needler both suffered serious injuries, as did Odom, Palmer, and Leonard. All but Odom were taken to University Hospital in ambulances, while Odom was airlifted there with multiple leg fractures and other injuries. The two babies were unharmed in the Indiana car accident.
  
  Indiana State Police do not yet know what caused the first car to drive across the median into oncoming traffic – they are investigating the Indiana car crash and took blood samples from the driver involved.
  - 4 - 10

• Wrong Way Drunk Driver Injures Two On I-70 In Wayne County
  Apr 30, 2010

  Wrong way interstate driving accidents occur more often than you might think in Indiana. While many people wonder how it is possible to drive the wrong way on a major interstate or highway with a large median, there are a number of ways that these Indiana car accidents take place. One of the major reasons for wrong way interstate accidents is drunk driving.
  
  This was certainly the case last Thursday, when a New Castle, Indiana, man driving a red pickup truck entered Interstate 70 going the wrong way and collided with two different vehicles. The man, 42-year-old Archie Napier, was allegedly drunk at the time of the I-70 wrong way accident.
  
  Indiana State Police received a call of a wrong way driver on I-70 near the 149 mile marker at approximately 10:50 PM. By the time an officer arrived at the scene, the driver of the truck had fled the accident scene, two cars were damaged, and a tractor-trailer was damaged after being hit by debris. Napier was found hiding behind a nearby building and arrested. Napier and one of the drivers of the other two cars were treated at a local hospital for non-life-threatening car accident injuries.
  
  Napier has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident causing serious bodily injury, operating while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury, operating while intoxicated with a blood-alcohol content of .15 percent or higher, reckless driving, and operating a vehicle while intoxicated. - 5 - 10

• Indiana 49 and Vale Park Road: Gary’s Worst Intersection
  Apr 29, 2010

  What is the most dangerous intersection in Gary, Indiana? Indiana Police and traffic safety experts agree: it is the intersection of Indiana Highway 49 and Vale Park Road. The last three years have seen three fatal accidents – all involving similar circumstances. In two instances, cars crossing on Vale Park Road have been t-boned by tractor-trailers with deadly consequences.
  
  In an effort to pinpoint the most dangerous intersections in Lake County and Porter County, Indiana, the Indiana Department of Transportation has released a report outlining the city’s most dangerous intersections and how they can be made safer in the future. After naming the most dangerous intersections, IDOT hopes to invest money into improving the intersections with lights, better signage, roadwork – or whatever improvements might reduce the number of future serious injuries and deaths at the crossings. In addition, adding traffic law enforcement in the areas surrounding the dangerous intersections is another way to reduce speed and increase awareness, traffic experts say.
  
  In some cases, however, intersections showed high rates of car accidents and car accident injuries because they were under construction. Intersections that have been altered or that have restricted lanes can confuse drivers or cause accidents when drivers do not reduce their speed.
  
  For Vale Park Road, Indiana officials want to construct an overpass over Highway 49 that would stop the vast majority of Indiana car accidents in that area. In the meantime, Indiana highway authorities have changed the sequence of lights at the intersection and installed solar paneled warning flashers that alter drivers to the approaching danger. - 6 - 10

• Union Mills Man Crashes Car On Indiana 39; Lands On LaPorte Runway
  Mar 29, 2010

  An Indiana man was found dead on an airport runway – perhaps hours after his car left the road and crashed almost 500 feet from the highway. Although an alert driver called in the crash to 911 at 6:30 in the morning, investigators say that the fatal IN car crash probably happened much earlier that day judging by the cold engine and the frost on the car.
  
  LaPorte County Coroner John Sullivan said that the driver of the vehicle, 49-year-old Douglas Justice, was found dead at the scene of the accident. He had been thrown over 100 feet from his car and had come to a rest on a LaPorte airport runway. His car was almost 500 feet from the road and had flipped side to side and end to end before stopping. Although the IN car accident probably occurred during the night, it was only seen after the sun rose.
  
  Sullivan said that Justice was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the car accident and had a blood alcohol level of 0.264, over three times the legal limit. In addition, crash site investigators believe the car was traveling at high speeds just before the accident took place – between 80 and 100 miles per hour. He died of massive multi-system trauma, according to the coroner.
  
  Justice was last seen around dinnertime the night before the fatal Indiana car accident. Investigators said that any plane landing on the runway after the LaPortte accident would have crashed, but that the airport was closed overnight and on the weekends.
  - 7 - 10

• Jeffersontown Man Suicidal In Days Before Collision In Clark County
  Mar 29, 2010

  According to Jeffersontown Police, 40-year-old Troy Anderson of Louisville was involved in a head-on collision with 57-year-old Steven Haworth of Charlestown, Indiana. The car accident took place on Indiana 160 on Friday afternoon, March 5, outside of Henryville. Both men died of blunt force trauma according to Jefferson County Chief Deputy Coroner Jo-Ann Farmer. No one else was involved in the Indiana car accident and police are unsure of which car crossed the centerline and caused the head-on accident.
  
  In the days before the crash, Anderson, a local chiropractor, had had several mental health issues and several run-ins with local police. He said that he wanted to kill himself after a break-up. Anderson’s mother had called police three days before the fatal car accident because her son was harming himself with a sharp instrument. When police arrived, Anderson threw the instrument and attacked an officer. He was tased twice by officers.
  
  Following his arrest, Anderson was charged with assault, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. He was taken to University hospital and was considered a danger to himself and others. An emergency mental inquest warrant was immediately issued. No one is sure when or why he was discharged from the hospital.
  
  Because there were no witnesses to the IN car crash and no survivors, it may be difficult for Indiana police to ever understand what happened or caused the Clark County car accident. - 8 - 10

• Maple Leaf GM Brian Burke Loses Son In Indiana Car Accident
  Feb 24, 2010

  A tragic Jeep accident in wintry weather in Central Indiana took the lives of two young college students this week. One of the two men was the son of famed Maple Leaf General manager Brian Burke. The Indiana car accident took place on Friday, February 5, 2010, at around 3 pm in the afternoon.
  
  Indiana Police reported that 21-year-old Brendan Burke and 18-year-old Mark Reedy were traveling on a two-lane highway near Economy, Indiana, in a heavy snowstorm and poor road conditions. As the pair drove east on Highway 35, Burke lost control of the Jeep, left his lane, and slid sideways into a pickup truck traveling west. The 2004 Grand Cherokee was totaled and both young men suffered fatal injuries.
  
  The driver of the Ford Truck, 24-year-old Michael Moreland, was not injured in the accident. The cause of the accident is under investigation by Indiana Police, although the heavy snow and slick roads were no doubt a factor in the deadly car crash.
  
  Brian Burke, who is also the general manager for the US Olympic Hockey Team, missed the opening ceremonies but has soldiered on after the loss of his son. He told reporters that it’s what his son would have wanted.
  
  Burke, who worked with the hockey team at his college, came out as gay last November and worked toward better acceptance of gays in the sporting world. Last year, he and his father marched in a gay pride parade together.
  
  - 9 - 10

• Cory Man Arrested After Deadly Hit-And-Run On Indiana 46
  Jan 25, 2010

  A fatal accident on Highway 46 near Vine Street in Riley has resulted in the arrest of 45-year-old Wesley Reagin of Cory, Indiana. Police say that speed, alcohol, and reckless driving were factors in this Indiana hit-and-run accident.
  
  According to the Vermillion County Sheriff’s Department, Ricky Cantrell of Terre Haute had visited a bar and was speeding on Indiana 46 when he lost control of his truck and slammed into a guardrail during a turn in the highway. The truck hit a telephone pole and then spun into the lane again, only to be struck on the broadside by Reagin’s truck. Reagin had also been drinking before the accident, which occurred at 3 am in the morning on Sunday, but authorities are not sure whether either man was above the legal limit.
  
  Passenger 35-year-old Russell Taylor was killed in the Terre Haute car accident, while passenger Amanda Noren was seriously injured. Cantrell suffered a broken leg during the car accident.
  
  Reagin left the scene of the accident but was later arrested at Union Hospital where he was treated for his car accident injuries. He has been charged with leaving the scene of a serious bodily injury accident. Police received a tip that Reagin was involved in the hit-and-run crash and seized the damaged truck from his home in Cory. Parts of Cantrell’s truck were found embedded in Reagin’s truck.
  
  None of the car accident victims were wearing seatbelts at the time of the Indiana accident. - 10 - 10

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