Last month, a motorcyclist was transported to IU Health Bloomington Hospital after he allegedly lost control of his vehicle while passing another car.
On the afternoon of May 13, Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Oliver Hitz responded to a crash on State Road 46, just north of the intersection of 46 and Upper Schooner Road. According to the crash report, three motorcycles were involved in the incident.
When Hitz arrived, he reported that Nashville Fire and Ambulance 231 were already on scene and medics were tending to one of the drivers, 28-year-old Adam Oliver from Bloomington, who had suffered a head injury. The ambulance on scene was preparing to transport Oliver to IU Health in Bloomington, the report said.
Hitz, along with Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Joshua Bales, directed traffic until Nashville Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Mike Horn arrived to assist. Once Horn arrived, Hitz was able to continue the investigation.
Oliver was transported by medics before Hitz could interview him, so he interviewed the other two motorcyclists. According to the report, they both made the same statement: they couldn’t remember anything. Hitz collected their insurance information and spoke with two witnesses at the scene.
According to the report, the first witness said she was driving east on State Road 46, about three or four cars behind the motorcycles. She said she saw the group of riders pass a car together, then attempt to pass another car near the intersection of Upper Schooner Road. The witness told Hitz she did not see the crash occur, but she did allegedly see them pass on a double yellow line. When she came up the hill, she saw that they had crashed, she said, so she stopped to help.
The second witness said she was two or three cars behind the motorcycles. According to the report, as a trio, they attempted to pass a car but were unsuccessful. Two of them made it back into their lane, but the third didn’t, the report said. He later tried to pass again and caught up with the other two bikes. Again, the group tried to pass a car, but another vehicle was heading towards them in the other lane. According to the report, they “barely” made it back into their lane and lost control of their bikes. The witness told Hitz that she was going around 45 miles per hour when the three motorcyclists tried to pass the last vehicle.
According to the report, both lanes of traffic were opened at 1:20 p.m. and no further action was taken.
Driver runs off road, faces OWI count
On the evening of May 17, Brown County Lt. Colton Magner was dispatched to a vehicle crash with injury on Salt Creek Road near the intersection of Brown Hill Road. According to the crash report, Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Jeff Dames arrived at the same time as Magner, along with EMS personnel following just behind them.
Magner parked north of the scene of the accidents, which was in the 900 block of Salt Creek Road. He found a vehicle on the south side of the road, resting on its passenger side in a creek bed, the report said. The vehicle appeared to have significant damage and had caused damage to the bridge guardrail and edge of the pavement, according to the report.
Magner asked who had been driving the vehicle and according to the report, a fireman on scene pointed him toward a male, later identified as Ned Heile. Heile was standing the northbound lane by himself and appeared to be intoxicated, the report said. Magner reported that he immediately noticed bloodshot eyes and the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his breath as he spoke with him. According to the report, Manger asked him what happened, and Heile allegedly replied that he had too much to drink and ran off the road.
Magner indicated to Dames that Heile appeared intoxicated, and according to the report, Dames took over the investigation and report for operating a vehicle while intoxicated while Magner did the crash investigation and report.
Magner spoke with a witness of the crash, who stated he was traveling north, approaching the scene, when he saw Heile’s vehicle leave the road and crash into the creek. The witness said the vehicle hit the opposite side of the creek and the rear end came up, as if it was going to flip end over end, then went back down and onto the passenger side, then came to a rest. The witness said he immediately stopped his car, ran over and asked if the driver was hurt and if there was anyone else in the vehicle, to which Heile responded that he didn’t know if he was hurt and he was the only one in the vehicle.
The witness said he asked a passerby to call 911 and he helped Heile out of the vehicle. When he got him out of the car, the witness said Heile allegedly told him he had been drinking. He also said he found Heile in the backseat of the car on the passenger side, and it was apparent to him that Heile was not wearing a seatbelt, the report said. Based on the way the witness described the vehicle landing, Magner reported that it is possible that Heile was thrown into the backseat of the vehicle.
After Heile was checked by EMS and refused transport, Dames administered a field sobriety test and ultimately arrested Heile for operating while intoxicated. According to the report, Magner administered a preliminary breath test on Heile as well, which allegedly resulted in a .255, more than three times the legal limit, the report said.
Dames transported Heile to Columbus Regional Hospital for blood draw and jail clearance. While at the hospital, the staff determined they would keep Heile for medical treatment, the report said. Dames released Heile from his custody to the hospital’s care. Brown County Tire recovered and towed the vehicle and photos were taken of the scene.
Man allegedly falls asleep, runs into tree
Late last month, a Columbus man, 32-year-old Cody Bratton, sustained injuries after allegedly falling asleep while on his way home, causing his vehicle to leave the road.
According to the crash report, Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Joshua Bales was dispatched to the scene on Bellsville Pike near Masters Lane. The report said it was believed Bratton had fractured his pelvis, and that the crash had occurred approximately two hours prior to the call.
Bales arrived on scene around 6:30 a.m. and observed Bratton’s vehicle off the south side of the road, facing west, head on into a tree. Bales approached the vehicle and made contact with Bratton, who reportedly had been the sole occupant of the vehicle at the time of the crash. According to the report, Bratton was lying on the ground down the embankment south of the vehicle. Bales reported that he observed Bratton to have his pants below his buttocks and some dried blood was on his face. According to the report, Bales offered a blanket to Bratton, who allegedly declined the offer. Bratton was reportedly awake and alert, and it was also noted that Bales knew him from prior encounters.
According to the report, Bratton told Bales he had been traveling home and fell asleep behind the wheel. Bales reported that he saw marks on the embankment on the south side of the road where Bratton had reportedly begun to drift of the road. Bales also observed a tree with freshly scraped off bark, which showed that Bratton had sideswiped it, according to the report. Lastly, Bales noted the that the vehicle had struck a second tree head-on, where it sat in its final resting place.
According to the report, Bratton was experiencing severe pain and believed he had broken his pelvis. He told Bales that after the crash, he had pulled himself from he vehicle to where he was laying, but he had been unable to call for help as his cellphone had run out of call minutes, the report said. Bratton also allegedly told Bales that he was not insured as a driver and the vehicle was not insured. In addition, Bratton reportedly told Bales he was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.
Bales reported that he observed the passenger side airbag had deployed but the driver’s side did not, and he mentioned it to Bratton. Bratton allegedly said the entire steering column had been replaced, implying the vehicle was no longer equipped with an airbag on that side, the report said.
According to the report, Bratton later informed Bales that he had left Taylorsville at approximately 3:30 a.m. and had been nodding off leading up to the crash. Bratton said he had been up bowfishing through the night, the report said.
Ambulance 231 arrived on scene and ultimately transported Bratton to Columbus Regional Hospital for further medical care. Bratton’s family member and owner of the vehicle was notified of the crash and his medical transport. Photographs were taken of the scene and Al’s Paint &Body recovered and towed the vehicle.
Nashville man allegedly distracted by spilled coffee, goes off road into tree
Early this month, a Nashville man, 38-year-old Justin Tharp, was transported to the hospital for injuries he sustained after running off the road and into a tree on his morning work commute.
On the morning of June 7, Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Zaccary Sheppard responded to the scene of the crash in Bellsville Pike Road west of Happy Hollow Road. According to the report, the road surface was wet. Dispatch advised to Sheppard that the accident involved one vehicle, which had collided with a tree. The caller said there was a male driver, who appeared to unconscious. Shortly after, the caller said the driver had a “nasty” gash on his hand and complained of back pain.
According to the report, at a later time, Sheppard learned from the caller that it had taken her a few minutes to wake the driver up.
When Sheppard arrived, he noted the vehicle was off the road and did appear to have collided with a tree head-on. The driver, Tharp, was laying in the road next to the driver’s side of the truck, conscious and alert, the report said. Sheppard asked him what happened and he said while he was driving and drinking coffee on his way to work, he tried to set his cup down and he must have hit the console and it spilled, according to the report.
Sheppard asked Tharp about his pain, and he said it was in his lower back. The report also states that the air bag was deployed and Tharp said he was wearing his seatbelt.
According to the report, Tharp’s vehicle sustained heavy front-end damage, along with damage to the passenger side. There was a tool box in the bed of the truck that busted out the rear window from the initial impact, the report said.
Tharp was transported to Columbus Regional Hospital and the truck was towed by Brown County Tire.
Car, motorcycle collide on 135
On the afternoon of June 10, Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Oliver Hitz responded to a crash on State Road 135 North by the Brownie’s Bean Blossom Restaurant parking lot. According to the crash report, Donald Galyan was driving north on State Road 135 and took a left turn into the parking lot on the west side of the road. While doing this, the report said, he didn’t pay attention to oncoming traffic.
Paul Callaway and Amanda Majors were riding a motorcycle together, heading south on State Road 135 when Galyan cut in front of them, according to the report. Callaway reportedly had no chance of braking or driving around Galyan’s vehicle and collided frontally into the back passenger side of the turning car.
When Hitz arrived on scene, Majors was already in an ambulance was being prepared to be transported via LifeLine helicopter to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. Another ambulance transported Callaway, but before they left, Hitz was able to get his driver’s license. Hitz reported that he observed that Callaway had a broken wrist and blood on his face.
According to the report, the incident “visually shook” Galyan and he said that he felt terrible about it. He was concerned about the wellbeing of Majors and Callaway, the report said.
