A Warsaw man was involved in two car-pedestrian accidents less than 10 minutes apart Saturday morning.
At 9:21 a.m. Saturday, Wendall G. Sadler, 76, of Turnberry Road, Warsaw, was driving near the intersection of Sheridan and Maple streets when he reportedly struck a woman who was participating in the Wellness Center 5K Walk Run Race.
Leann Allison, 59, of Steven Drive, Warsaw, suffered a bruise to her neck during the incident.
Sadler allegedly told police he was merging over to get out of another vehicle's way and did not realize he hit anyone.
Just five minutes later at 9:26 a.m., Sadler struck another pedestrian, Tanya Wood, 43, of Smith Street, Leesburg, sending her rolling across the hood and falling off the right side. Wood suffered bruising to her hip and upper leg area.
In the second incident, Sadler said he was driving and watching the people beside his car and in front of him but did not see Wood running until she was on his hood.
Several other runners and walkers said that Sadler was driving so close to them that he grazed them with the right side of his car before hitting the pedestrians.
According to the accident report from Sgt. Robert Long of the Warsaw Police Department, Sheridan Street was not blocked off for the race, and participants were using the road instead of the sidewalks and the edge of the roadway.
Long also said that around 9:16 a.m. he had warned the race participants, who were walking with traffic, to walk single file for safety. Long also noted that he almost hit a participant who was five abreast into the roadway.
Long said Sadler violated a state statute that requires drivers to use caution to avoid collisions with pedestrians and he failed to use "an audible signal to avoid the collision with the pedestrian."
Long added that the pedestrians "failed to use the left side of the roadway to travel against the flow of vehicle traffic," which also is a violation of state statute. He also said the pedestrians "failed to use the sidewalks when available and failed to walk on the left hand side as close to the road as possible."
A driver retest affidavit for Sadler will be sent to the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles in reference to the accidents.
