Published: August 20, 2008 04:02 pm      

Crash damages home, sends one to hospital

CLAYTON — A three-car crash Monday left one vehicle on a porch and the driver in the hospital with minor injuries. The crash occurred at the intersection of Pennsylvania Street and State Road 39, directly in front of the Clayton Cafe.

Hendricks County Sheriff’s Deputy John Hillman said Deborah Colvert of Clayton was southbound on S.R. 39 when Jenny Spangler, also of Clayton, was crossing S.R. 39 on Pennsylvania Street.

Hillman said Colvert clipped the back of Spangler’s vehicle, spinning it around, and also struck an unoccupied vehicle. He said her car finally came to rest on the porch of a nearby home. The unoccupied third car rolled down S.R. 39 and veered onto another street where it came to a stop.

Colvert was taken by ambulance to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. Spangler was not injured in the crash.

“[Colvert] complained of neck pain and overall body pain and they took her to Methodist Hospital in a neck brace,” Hillman said. “I’ve never seen a crash in town like this — they’re north of Clayton usually, but this is the first one here in town.”

Colvert’s vehicle landed on top of the concrete steps leading to the porch and was resting on the steps and part of the porch before being towed. Homeowner Brian O’Connor was home at the time of the crash and said he and his two daughters were lucky the crash happened when it did.

“We’re out here all the time,” he said. “If it had been two hours from now, we’d be sitting there on the porch.”

He also said that particular stretch of road could be conducive to wrecks because of speeding and obstructions.

“The big rigs sit there and you can’t see around,” O’Connor said. “It’s lucky people haven’t been injured walking across the street to the restaurant. I cannot believe it hasn’t happened before — I look for a crash at least once a week, and you’ll hear brakes screeching, but none of it’s impacted me before.”

David Slingerland, who owns the Clayton Cafe with his parents, said he sees people speed through the area every day.

“We sit here all day long, see people zoom by all the time,” Slingerland said. “I’m just surprised it hasn’t happened before.”

Hillman said speed has not been officially determined as a factor in the crash. Police are continuing to investigate and the cause of the crash is unknown at this time, he added.



charlee.beasor@flyergroup.com