Indiana Conservation Officers are investigating an Off Road Vehicle (ORV) accident that occurred in Crawford County Saturday evening. 

Stacy Ciotti, 45, of Taswell, suffered serious injuries after colliding with a pickup truck driven by Ronald Enlow, 40, of English, near the 7400 block of Overhead Bridge Road near Taswell.   
 
Just before 8:30 p.m., Indiana Conservation Officers responded along with the Crawford County Sheriff’s Department, and Ciotti was found unresponsive and badly injured in a Polaris Ranger side-by-side ORV.

Enlow’s full-size Dodge Ram pickup truck had crashed into a nearby tree after striking Ciotti’s ORV broadside. 
 
Enlow suffered only minor injuries and was treated and released at the scene.  Ciotti was transported by ground, then airlifted to University of Louisville Hospital, where she was listed in critical condition. 
 
Assisting agencies at the scene included the Crawford County Sheriff’s Department, English Fire Department, Crawford County EMS, and Air Methods Helicopter.   
 
Ciotti was not wearing a helmet or utilizing the ORV’s safety restraints at the time of the collision.  Indiana Conservation Officers strongly encourage riders to always wear a helmet and utilize necessary safety equipment when operating an ORV.

Indiana Conservation Officers are investigating a fatal Off-Road Vehicle (ORV) accident that occurred in Washington County early this morning. 

Hershel Lanham, 26, of Pekin, died of injuries sustained during the crash on Arrow Road, outside of Salem.   
 
Shortly after 2:30 a.m., Indiana Conservation Officers, along with the Washington County Sheriff’s Department, responded to Arrow Road, near Cox Ferry Road. 

Lanham was found unresponsive in the roadway, adjacent to a crashed ORV. 
 
Lanham was pronounced dead at the scene by the Washington County Coroner’s Office.  Assisting agencies included the Washington County Sheriff’s Department and Washington County EMS. 
 
Lanham was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.  Indiana Conservation Officers strongly encourage riders to always wear a helmet and utilize necessary safety equipment when operating an ORV.
 

At approximately 12:21 pm, an Indiana State Trooper who was searching the river bank area near the location of the original shooting that occurred this morning, made contact with Quentin Starke, 44, from Bartholomew County, who was hiding in a wooded secluded area.

As the two encountered each other, Starke fired a firearm at the trooper and missed.

The trooper then returned fire and during the exchange of gunfire Starke was struck and died.

It is uncertain at this time if the gunshot wound or wounds was from the Indiana State Trooper’s firearm or Starke’s firearm.

An autopsy will be performed to determine the exact cause of death and a ballistics test will be performed to determine which weapon’s bullet or bullets struck Starke.   

When Starke was apprehended first aid was rendered but Starke was pronounced dead at the scene.

The name of the Indiana State Trooper involved in the shooting will be released at a later date.

The initial investigation indicated that a Columbus Police Officer initiated a traffic stop on a Toyota Corolla passenger car near 11th and Washington Streets this morning at approximately 4:20 am.  

The vehicle fled from the officer, leading police officers from the Columbus Police Department and Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office in a pursuit.  The vehicle eventually drove southbound on State Road 11 and turned onto a county road before coming to a stop near a water treatment facility.

 At some point, the suspect exited the vehicle and fired at least one shot from a long gun at a Columbus Police Officer.  The suspect then fled into a wooded area.  The Columbus Police Officer was injured by the shot.  

The officer was transported to the Columbus Regional Hospital where he was treated for injuries.  The male officer was treated and has since been released from the hospital.

 The suspect is described as a white male, late 30s or early 40s, 6 feet tall, 190 pounds, red or brown hair.  The suspect was wearing black shirt, jeans, and a ball cap at the time of the incident.

The suspect was considered armed and dangerous at this time.  

Indiana Department of Transportation officials met with the state’s contractor this week to discuss plans for a $1,017,436 project that will repair and resurface the outside shoulder along a 10-mile section of Interstate 65 between Henryville and Scottsburg.  Work is expected to start within one to two weeks for what is expected to be a month-long operation. 

E & B Paving of Clarksville, INDOT’s contractor, is charged with patching existing shoulder areas along either side of I-65 from mile marker 19.0 to mile marker 29.0 during overnight hours.  Once repairs have been made, I-65’s outside shoulder will be resurfaced with HMA asphalt. 

This year’s shoulder work is within the same I-65 section where mainline lanes were repaired and resurfaced over the last two years.  That $12.4 million project included replacement of the bridge over Brownstown Road.   

I-65’s traffic count at this location is 36,630 vehicles per day.

A school bus is overturned. The bus driver and students are trapped inside. 

What is the best way to respond to this to make sure everyone makes it out ok and that all agencies are working together to make sure it happens as quickly as possible. 

The Washington County Local Emergency Planning Committee is conducting a Full Scale Exercise at 10am, Saturday September 30, 2017.

According to Washington County Emergency Management Director Desi Alexander, the scenario involves a school bus that has been involved in a wreck with a pickup truck
having propane tanks in the back of the truck.

The wreck will be simulating the intersection of Martinsburg Rd and Shorts Corner Rd but will really be taking place at the Town of Pekin garage on 5th Street (which will be closed from 10a until 2p Saturday).

There will be three locations with incidents going on:
-East Washington School
-St Vincent of Salem Hospital
-Washington County 911 Center

Alexander said that Bill Slusser with Jefferson Twp Fire Dept donated school bus for the exercise, which is currently on its side at the Pekin Street Dept garage.

The Evaluators and Controllers will be from IDHS Dist 8.

“We will be using most of the Actors from the three schools, (students and bus drivers),” said Alexander. 

She said an after action and improvement plan meeting will be conducted on a later date to access the exercise.

An off-duty State Trooper jailed a Bedford man Friday morning on reckless driving charges after clocking him traveling over 100 miles per hour.

Arrested and Charged was Matthew T. Jeter, 36, Bedford, IN

– Reckless Driving, Class B Misdemeanor

At 7:11 AM this morning, Senior Trooper Jarrod Lents was off duty and was southbound on US231 just north of the Haysville bridge, when he observed the headlights of another southbound vehicle approaching him extremely fast.  Lents activated the rear antenna of his radar speed timing device and clocked the approaching vehicle at 101 miles per hour in a 55 mile per hour zone.  Lents pulled to the side of the road and allowed the silver Chevrolet Impala to pass.

Lents activated his emergency lights and stopped the Chevrolet in Haysville.  Lents asked the driver, 36-year-old Matthew Jeter of Bedford to step from the car, and placed him into custody.  Jeter was lodged in the Martin County Jail on a single count of reckless driving, a Class B Misdemeanor.