Citation issued in fatal accident on U.S.36 bridge

ROCKVILLE – A 66-year-old Danville man has been cited for failure to yield the right of way in a Nov. 2 accident that claimed the lives of an Amish woman and her two-year-old son.

Parke County sheriff’s deputies have completed their investigation into an accident involving a van and Amish buggy on U.S. 36 east of Raccoon Lake Bridge near Hollandsburg, west of the Parke-Putnam county line.

Steven Miller Ealy, who was driving the van, has been cited for failure to yield right of way resulting in a crash, according to a press release issued by Parke County Sheriff Justin Cole.

Fatally injured in the accident were Tina Detweiler, 24, who was pronounced dead at the scene, and her son Kenneth, 2, who was taken by air ambulance to St. Vincent Clay Hospital in Brazil.

Detweiler’s husband, Abraham, 24, and daughter Kathryn, 5 months, were taken by air ambulance to Indianapolis hospitals and have since been released.

The Amish family was reportedly westbound in ae horse-drawn buggy just before 9:45 a.m. when the rig was struck from behind by a westbound 2019 Ford van driven by Ealy. Impact of the collision forced the buggy off the roadway.

The accident investigation, Sheriff Cole said in the news release, yielded findings that include:

-- No evidence Ealy was operating the van in a reckless manner or of any impairment or any other negligence.

-- That a chemical test revealed no drugs or alcohol in Ealy’s system.

-- That a recent chip-and-seal treatment of the road surface may have been a factor in the crash. Investigators suggested that the black buggy may have blended in with the black pavement from a distance.

The completed case report and all other documents have been forwarded to the Parke County prosecutor for review.