Intoxicated I-70 driver causes accident by going wrong way

Saturday, April 13, 2013

PUTNAMVILLE -- An intoxicated wrong-way driver struck a semi five miles west of Cloverdale Thursday night, shutting down eastbound Interstate 70 for more than an hour in western Putnam County.

Indiana State Police at Putnamville reported Friday morning that Pamela S. Goedde, 57, of Evansville, was intoxicated when she drove her 2004 Honda Accord westbound in the eastbound lanes.

Goedde's car collided head-on with a Volvo tractor-trailer, driven by Hardev Singh Kauldher, 37, of Ontario, Canada, at about 9:30 p.m. Thursday.

The crash occurred near the 36-mile marker of I-70, west of the Putnamville exit.

Toxicology reports indicate Goedde was driving with a blood-alcohol content of .24 percent -- three times the .08 threshold level of intoxication in Indiana -- at the time of the accident.

The Evansville woman was extricated from her car by Cloverdale Fire Department personnel. She was transported to IU Health-Methodist Hospital, Indianapolis.

Goedde reportedly sustained head and internal injuries along with a leg injury. None of her injuries, however, appeared to be life-threatening.

The semi driver was uninjured in the collision.

State Police said five other vehicles reportedly had to swerve off the roadway to avoid colliding with the westbound Goedde car. There was no damage to those vehicles or any injuries to their occupants.

Authorities are uncertain whether the woman actually entered the eastbound lanes of I-70 at the Putnamville (37-mile marker) or Cloverdale (41-mile marker) exit.

"Reports were all around the 36- and 37-mile marker area," State Police Public Information Officer Sgt. Joe Watts told the Banner Graphic. "However we're not exactly sure if she entered at the 37- or 41-mile marker."

The tractor-trailer that was struck was hauling laundry detergent, Watts noted.

The investigation is ongoing and alcohol-related charges are expected to be filed in a Putnam County court at a later date, Sgt. Watts added.

The eastbound lanes of the interstate were able to reopen at 10:40 p.m. Thursday.

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