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Heavy rainfall overall factor in Sunday evening crashes
While the rain certainly came down and put a damper on outdoor activities over the weekend, the deluge that came through Putnam County Sunday evening was a factor in a pair of vehicle crashes.
Both an incident involving a collision with a utility pole as well as a crash resulting from a rollover occurred south of Greencastle, keeping local emergency responders busy as the rain made its way through.
At approximately 8:30 p.m. Sunday evening, emergency personnel received a call for a crash on U.S. 231 near County Road 300 South (Jones Road).
They arrived to find that a motorist and a passenger in a later-model Ford F-150 had struck a utility pole, which snapped a few feet above the ground.
Both of the victims had to be extricated from the vehicle, according to a run report written by the Greencastle Fire Department.
Efforts to secure the scene had traffic reduced to one lane south of Putnam County Hospital, with southbound traffic being rerouted and vehicles traveling northbound into Greencastle allowed to continue on.
Sgt. Matt Ames of the Indiana State Police stated in a call from the Banner Graphic Monday morning that speed was the contributing factor coupled with the wet conditions. Essentially, the driver was going too fast, lost control of the vehicle and then struck the utility pole.
Ames reported that both the driver and the passenger suffered lacerations to the facial area, as well as generally complained of pain. Both were transported to nearby Putnam County Hospital for further medical attention.
Though their exact condition was unknown as of Monday morning, Ames said that both were fully conscious when they were taken from the scene of the accident.
Ames could not provide the identities of the two involved at the time of the call.
Given that the wet road and a failure to reduce speed to account for the weather were the only determined causes, Ames said that effects from drugs or alcohol were not factors in this crash.
Other agencies on the scene of the crash included the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department, Greencastle Fire Department and Putnam County Operation Life.
While the truck itself was totaled, Duke Energy was alerted to replace the damaged utility pole. Though exact numbers were unavailable at the time of the Monday morning call, Ames estimated damages between the truck and the pole at $20,000-$25,000.
Ames said U.S. 231 was opened back up completely by approximately 9:45 p.m.
Trooper David Cox Jr. investigated the incident.
Putnam County Dispatch reported that eight calls for service went out during the downpour, including those covering the wreck on U.S. 231 and a rollover on State Road 42.
At 8:30 p.m., personnel were also called to the scene where they found a 2001 Toyota Tacoma driven by Bradley Peters of Paragon had run off the south side of the roadway, struck the guardrail and then came to rest completely inverted.
According to a report submitted by Deputy Daniel Birt of the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, police were advised by fire personnel that Peters had said he was trying to avoid a deer by veering to the right.
Birt further noted in his report that the heavy rainfall factored into the incident by making the roadways slick and reducing visibility.
Both the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department and the Cloverdale Township Volunteer Fire Department were called to the scene, but no other agencies could be confirmed by the report.
Though he was seen to be walking around with fire personnel after the incident, Peters was transported to an unspecified medical facility. As in the incident on U.S. 231, alcohol and drugs were determined to not be a factor.
The vehicle, which was totaled, was towed from the scene by Curtis Garage & Wrecker. Birt’s report estimates total damages from the crash to be $500-$10,000. No other drivers were involved.
Ames stated the wreck on U.S. 231 was the only weather-related incident the Indiana State Police responded to in the area on Sunday.
According to the Greencastle Middle School WeatherSTEM station, 2.3 inches of rain fell within 24 hours of Monday morning. Significant rainfall occurred on Saturday as well, but the exact measure was unavailable.
Sunday’s heavy rainstorm rolled into the area around 7:15 p.m., and did not let up until about 10 p.m.
Putnam County was also under a flood warning until 11:30 p.m. Sunday, though no significant related incidents were reported. As of Monday morning, WeatherSTEM Portal’s forecast called for 40 percent chances of rainfall daily through Friday.