Switzerland County emergency responders had a busy day on Monday, as three major vehicle accidents all occurred during the day – including a semi truck roll over on River Road that closed State Road 156 for more than two hours.
According to Switzerland County Sheriff’s deputy Richard Lock, a semi truck owned by Steel Warehouse, Inc., of South Bend, Indiana, was traveling west on State Road 156 at approximately 11:15 a.m. Monday morning and was carrying a 32,000-pound roll of steel from Gallatin Steel.
The driver of the semi, Larry G. Hamilton, 53, of Goshen, Indiana, brought the truck up over a rise in the roadway just east of the Johnny and Jeannette Andrews’ home.
The truck didn’t make the curve in the roadway, going off on the north side of the road and going into the ditch.
“The vehicle ran off of the road and the driver couldn’t get the truck and trailer back on the roadway,” Deputy Lock said. “Once he went into the ditch, the driver couldn’t get the truck corrected and back on the road, and the depth of the ditch caused the truck to roll over.”
Larry Hamilton was pinned in the wreckage for about 30 minutes while emergency workers at the scene tried to get the truck back over onto its wheels without causing Larry Hamilton more physical harm.
Once he was extracted from the cab of the truck, Larry Hamilton was airlifted to University Hospital in Cincinnati. He apparently suffered no significant injuries, and Richard Lock said that the sheriff’s office had been informed that the hospital expected to release Larry Hamilton on Tuesday afternoon.
“He is a very lucky man,” Richard Lock said.
The flatbed trailer that was holding the roll of steel also flipped over during the accident, but the roll of steel stayed basically in place and did not get loose from the trailer. The heavy damage to the truck and the extensive work that it took to get the truck off of the roadway caused State Road 156 to be closed down between the Vevay Cemetery and Tapps Ridge Road. Some motorists detoured along Plum Creek Road and Cogley Cole Road; while others used Tapps Ridge or Markland Pike to get around the accident.
The investigation is still ongoing as to exactly what happened, but Richard Lock said that at this time there are no local charges pending against the operator of the semi.
The Switzerland County Sheriff’s Department was assisted at the scene by the Vevay Town Police Department; the Indiana State Police; Switzerland County EMS; Jefferson-Craig Volunteer Fire Department; Moorefield Community Volunteer Fire Department; and East Enterprise Volunteer Fire Department. Glencoe Towing from Kentucky was summoned with a large wrecker to help move the truck off of the roadway.
“I think everyone’s lucky that it wasn’t more serious than it turned out to be,” Deputy Lock said.
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Earlier Monday morning there was a one vehicle accident on State Road 250 near Keith Road that officers responded to.
According to Deputy Lock, Jack Frock, 20, was traveling east on State Road 250 “at an unreasonable rate of speed” for the road conditions.
Deputy Lock said that Jack Frock lost control of his vehicle in a curve in the roadway and impacted the ditch, which caused the vehicle to roll over.
Again, thankfully there were only minor injuries. Jack Frock was taken to the Switzerland County Detention Center and charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
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The third accident of the day occurred on North Branch Road at approximately 4:25 p.m., and involved a head-on collision between two vehicles.
Switzerland County Sheriff’s deputy David Davenport, said that a vehicle driven by Pamela J. Kilburn of Patriot was traveling south on North Branch Road when her vehicle approached a blind hillcrest.
A second vehicle, driven by Paul B. Williams of Miamitown, Ohio, was traveling north on North Branch Road and approached the same hillcrest.
According to Deputy Davenport, the Williams vehicle went airborne when it got to the hillcrest, crossed over into Pamela Kilburn’s lane, and the two vehicles hit head on.
A passenger in the Paul Williams vehicle, Larry Parnell of Harrison, Ohio, was airlifted from the scene to University Hospital in Cincinnati. No information about his condition was available at press time.
Deputy Davenport said that two other passengers in the Paul Williams vehicle, fled the scene on foot, but were later found by Switzerland County Sheriff’s Department officers.
Lawrence Bruce of Miamitown, Ohio, formerly of Vevay, was apprehended and arrested on an outstanding warrant and also on charges of public intoxication. The second person, William Poe of Miamitown, Ohio, was apprehended and then transported to Dearborn County Hospital, where he received treatment for minor injuries to his leg.