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UPDATE: Speed a factor in single-vehicle fatality Tuesday

Thursday, September 23, 2021
By BRAND SELVIA, Staff Writer
Greencastle firefighters and Deputy Coroner Todd Zeiner survey the scene of a fatal accident which occurred northeast of Greencastle Tuesday morning.
Banner Graphic/BRAND SELVIA

A Greencastle woman was killed in a high-speed single-vehicle crash which occurred northeast of the city Tuesday morning.

At about 10:20 a.m., emergency personnel were dispatched to the railroad bridge near the intersection of Albin Pond Road and County Road 100 East for an accident with injuries.

A witness told authorities that the vehicle, driven by Anita Cundiff, 48, was traveling northbound and went through the nearby four-way intersection at a high rate of speed. It then crossed the road and impacted a utility pole before coming to rest in the west embankment behind the guardrail.

Along with the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office and a Putnam County EMS ambulance, the Greencastle Fire Department responded with an engine and its hazmat truck. The county highway department and CSX police also assisted at the scene.

Cundiff was pronounced dead at the scene. It was found that she was restrained inside the vehicle and airbags were deployed.

Coroner Jon Myers told the Banner Graphic that an autopsy held Wednesday at Terre Haute Regional Hospital showed Cundiff suffered multiple blunt-force injuries. Toxicology testing is expected to take up to four weeks.

Cpl. Scott Ducker stated to the Banner Graphic Tuesday afternoon that suspected marijuana was found inside the vehicle.

Curtis Wrecker retrieved the vehicle. Meanwhile, Duke Energy was notified to replace the damaged pole. Train traffic was halted for about two hours due to the vehicle’s proximity to the tracks.

Up to 92 Duke Energy customers in the area were affected when the crash took place. Power was shown as being fully restored by 3:25 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.

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    I have never known anyone to drive fast after having smoked the devil-weed.

    Its usually driving 20mph and worrying you are driving too fast.

    Bad decisions can kill.

    -- Posted by dreadpirateroberts on Wed, Sep 22, 2021, at 6:36 PM

  • My prayers for her as she goes to Rest In Peace.

    -- Posted by FSSWCI on Thu, Sep 23, 2021, at 9:58 PM

  • for the family of Anita so sorry for your loss R.I.P. Anita

    -- Posted by cgolda on Fri, Sep 24, 2021, at 5:45 AM

  • @DPR--so you must have experience in the "devil weed". Are you sure this is what caused the wreck???

    -- Posted by donantonio on Fri, Sep 24, 2021, at 4:24 PM
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    Don - I have been known to partake.

    My point of departure in commenting was the police making a comment to the BG about there possibly being marijuana in the car.

    There really was no need for them to report that - the police or the BG. And while I may have missed a few accident stories, I don't remember this being a standard statement.

    But since they did, it leads one to assume that they (police) are insinuating it was a factor.

    Perhaps there are conversations going on in the city amongst a select group of upstanding citizens.

    There are legal products (Delta-8 and Delta-10) derived from hemp that are - too a large degree - basically marijuana THC (which is Delta-9, and illegal in the state of IN as well as Federally).

    These products can be bought in Greencastle.

    So maybe this is what they found in the car.

    And maybe this is what the select group wants discussed. (Or maybe I'm just starved for a really good conspiracy. LOL)

    But if I was asked... it had nothing to do with the accident.

    For whatever reason; she was speeding and ran a 4 way stop. My guess is she didn't anticipate the bounce.

    It is probably not a level intersection and if you are going too fast you could lose control.

    In my reckless youth I had many encounters with high speed and unfamiliar roads. There, but for the grace of God, go I.

    -- Posted by dreadpirateroberts on Fri, Sep 24, 2021, at 6:02 PM

  • Don't understand why she can't just rest in peace? Of course in putnam county if u have a little weed in ur possession when u die we blast it in our local newspaper and of course its a statement from local police

    -- Posted by virgokathi918 on Fri, Sep 24, 2021, at 8:23 PM

  • Anita was a wonderful person. May she rest easy. She may have suffered a medical incident that had nothing to do with a bag of weed that didn't even belong to her! If you don't know, don't comment! God bless you Anita! You were a great friend who would do anything for anyone!! Peace, sister!!

    -- Posted by jake71 on Fri, Sep 24, 2021, at 10:17 PM

  • DPR... I cannot believe your complete lack of sympathy for this gal’s family. You are an unbelievable ***. Your comments are uncalled for. You know nothing about this accident so keep you nasty mouth shut.

    -- Posted by Queen53 on Sat, Sep 25, 2021, at 5:16 PM

  • Perhaps, reading Ecclesiastes Chapter 12 would be good for us all.

    -- Posted by donantonio on Sat, Sep 25, 2021, at 8:06 PM

  • I hate to agree with Queenie but DPR is out of line. And why is the paper fixated on how many people were out of service for a few hours?

    -- Posted by Ben Dover on Sun, Sep 26, 2021, at 8:18 PM

  • My prayers for her as she goes to Rest In Peace.

    -- Posted by FSSWCI on Sun, Sep 26, 2021, at 9:06 PM
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    Queen - LOL... and I am sure you will be full of sympathy for those you are so desperate to put in the cattle-cars. I laugh at your hypocrisy, little flower.

    Ben - you should hate to agree w/harridans...its a bad look. Nothing in my post was unsympathetic. I said there was no reason to mention the weed (unless my pot-induced paranoid ramblings are really true, in which case...); I speculated on why she crashed; and I said that bad decisions kill.

    Unless someone ran her off the road or drove her to such hysterics that she wasn't in a right frame of mind she made the decision to run a stop sign and exceed safe speeds on county roads. Its not a sympathy (or lack of) thing. It's a simple fact.

    There should be no issues in discussing the facts of the article. That is why we post on here.

    If you want to sympathize; go place some flowers or make a donation in her honor.

    -- Posted by dreadpirateroberts on Mon, Sep 27, 2021, at 6:26 PM

  • @Queen for someone who is so quick to execute every lawbreaker, you seem to have a soft spot here. Hmm.

    -- Posted by techphcy on Mon, Sep 27, 2021, at 7:53 PM

  • My prayers for her as she goes to Rest In Peace.

    -- Posted by FSSWCI on Fri, Oct 1, 2021, at 4:07 PM
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