Three hurt in U.S. 36 incident Friday

Fire and police personnel are on standby as Adams Towing retrieves a Chevrolet Traverse that flipped in a two-vehicle incident near Bainbridge Friday.

Banner Graphic/BRAND SELVIA

BAINBRIDGE — Three people were injured in a two-vehicle incident that occurred on U.S. 36 near Bainbridge Friday afternoon.

First responders were dispatched at about 3:25 p.m. to the area of Big Walnut Bridge for a crash with injuries. They found an inverted 2017 Chevrolet Traverse and an upright 2013 Ford F-150 in the westbound embankment.

An investigation found that the F-150, driven by Rebecca Rhudd, 58, Lizton, was traveling eastbound when it lost control in the curve. The vehicle then went into the westbound lane and struck head-on the Traverse, driven by Jeremy Cunnings, 39, Mattoon, Ill.

The F-150 flipped and slid about 30 yards upside down before it reached the embankment and flipped back upright. Meanwhile, the Traverse flipped upside down and went into the creek.

Cunnings was extricated and transported by Putnam County EMS to Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. Rhudd and her passenger in the F-150 were transported by Roachdale PMH to Hendricks Regional Health in Danville. Their injuries were determined as not life-threatening.

The Ford F-150 also involved in the incident rests in the westbound embankment. Its driver and passenger, as well as the driver of the Traverse, were transported for their injuries.

Courtesy Roachdale Police Department

Roachdale Town Marshal Adrian Lepine told the ­ Banner Graphic that speed and wet conditions due to earlier rainfall are believed to be the contributing factors in the incident.

Agencies which also responded included the Bainbridge Police Department, the Bainbridge and Floyd Township volunteer fire departments, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office and the Indiana Department of Natural Resource’s Law Enforcement Division.

Adams Towing picked up the two vehicles, and the roadway was fully reopened by 5 p.m.

Bainbridge Police Officer Jeff Mollins was assisted by Lepine in the investigation.