Man, child injured in crash on Hornettown Road
FRUITDALE — A man and child were injured last week when their vehicle hit a patch of ice on Hornettown Road.
The crash was reported around 8 a.m. Feb. 21 on Hornettown Road near State Road 135 North. The driver, 43-year-old Christopher Daugherty of Hornettown Road, told police he was driving west at about 30 MPH when he met an oncoming vehicle, says an accident report by Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Colton Magner.
Daugherty said he tried to move over, but thought he had dropped his front passenger side tire off the pavement. He said when he steered back onto the road, the slick road caused him to lose control and hit an embankment. His 2000 Jeep then rolled twice, the report states. It was found lying on its driver’s side facing west.
Magner reported that sand was on the road, but it had mostly been pushed to the side from people driving it.
Magner also reported that he could not find evidence Daugherty had dropped his passenger tire off the road, but it did appear he lost control on the icy surface while attempting to steer back into the middle of the road after the oncoming vehicle passed.
Daugherty and a child passenger were checked out at the scene by EMS, but refused transport to the hospital. The report states that Daugherty had back pain and the child had minor bleeding on his face. Neither of them was wearing a seat belt, the report said.
The Jeep was towed to Daugherty’s home.
Multiple misdemeanors for battery, resisting arrest
A 44-year-old woman faces multiple misdemeanors after police say she physically assaulted to people, then resisted arrest while shouting profanities.
Jennifer Clephane, of Peoga Road, was arrested on Feb. 16 after police say she pulled a woman’s hair before hitting a man in his eye and biting him on his hand, according to a probable cause affidavit by Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Austin Schonfeld.
Schonfeld reported that the woman did not have any apparent injury, but the man’s eye was bruised and swollen and his hand had a puncture with partially dry blood on it.
Clephane did not comply when asked to place her hands behind her back to be arrested. After Schonfeld and Deputy Jimmy Green placed her hands behind her back, she tensed up and tried to pull away from the deputies, according to the affidavit. She continued to try and pull away until she was placed against Green’s patrol vehicle; then, she attempted to grab Schonfeld’s groin area, the report said.
While the deputies were trying to ask Clephane questions and do an investigation, she yelled and used explicit language. She was asked more than once to be quiet, the affidavit states.
On Feb. 19, Clephane was charged with battery resulting in bodily injury, a Class A misdemeanor; battery, a Class B misdemeanor; resisting law enforcement, a Class A misdemeanor; and disorderly conduct, a Class B misdemeanor.
Increased traffic patrols planned for March
This March, the Brown County Traffic Partnership is planning an increase in driving patrols to catch drivers speeding and taking risks behind the wheel.
Overtime for traffic enforcement is paid for through grants from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, administered by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, according to a press release from the Brown County Sheriff’s Department.
“The rules of the road are not only the law, they are designed to help everyone reach their destination safely and efficiently,” Sheriff Scott Southerland said. “By warning drivers of aggressive driving enforcement, our aim is to prevent unsafe driving and save lives.”
Failure to yield the right-of-way is one of the top causes of crashes involving injuries or resulting in death. Following too closely and unsafe lane movement violation also are top causes, the press release said.
