The Domino Effect

Thursday, November 17, 2011
A three-vehicle accident occurred Wednesday afternoon on U.S. 36, just west of Bainbridge. As one vehicle began to yield for an oversized load going westbound he was promptly rear-ended by a semi-truck, which then got rear-ended by another pickup truck. No one was thought to be seriously injured.

BAINBRIDGE -- As a wide-load vehicle traveled westbound along U.S 36 just west of Bainbridge Wednesday afternoon, it left a three-vehicle accident in its wake.

The wide-load that had required a three-car police escort took up nearly the entire two-lane highway, forcing cars to yield and pull over to the side of the road as it passed.

It was about 1:40 p.m. as the 2007 GMC truck, driven by Carl Uhls, attempted to yield to the oncoming wide-load vehicle when he was promptly rear-ended by a 1994 Kenworth semi, which could not stop in time to avoid a collision. The semi was driven by Donald Martens of Waveland.

At that point, a third vehicle, a 1994 Chevrolet S10 pickup driven by Larry Miller, ran into the semi-truck.

"You're driving 55 miles per hour, you can't exactly stop that quickly, especially in a semi-truck," said Louise Miller, the wife of one driver who was involved in the accident.

The wide-load vehicle reportedly had to keep on moving because of an apparent 3:30 p.m. deadline to get to its destination, which was near the Indiana-Illinois border.

Nobody was seriously injured in the accident, however, Uhls and an unidentified passenger were transported to Hendricks County Hospital at Danville due to complaints of pain.

"We are not sure who the passenger was yet or if there were injuries," Senior State Trooper Chris Harcourt said at the scene.

It is estimated that there was approximately $5,000-$10,000 in damage.

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  • Where was the 3 car escort behind him?

    -- Posted by Hazel on Thu, Nov 17, 2011, at 6:24 AM
  • I thought there was some kind of rule that those things travel only at night or early morning, when traffic was light. If there isn't, maybe someone should think about having a law passed to that effect.....

    -- Posted by wrinklenose on Thu, Nov 17, 2011, at 10:28 AM
  • It's actually quite the opposite. Wide loads are NOT allowed to travel at night in Indiana. Regulations vary from state to state though, and pulling oversize freight across several states can be a nightmare of permits and laws.

    -- Posted by Clovertucky on Thu, Nov 17, 2011, at 1:48 PM
  • They should be on a larger road, 40 is only 15 miles south with 4 lanes. Happens all the time.

    -- Posted by bearcat on Thu, Nov 17, 2011, at 10:31 PM
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