ETNA GREEN - Five people were injured in a one-vehicle accident near Etna Green this morning.
According to a report from the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department, Larry L. Lehman, 16, of CR 54, Nappanee, was driving a 1991 GMC Vandira 2500 when he lost control, hit a fence and continued into an embankment.Lehman was southbound on Byrer Road about 800 feet south of CR 700N, Etna Green, when he missed a 90-degree left turn in the road. The van traveled off the south side of the road before hitting a fence post, going into a ditch and hitting an embankment. He told police that he hit the brakes but the van did not slow down.
Lehman complained of pain to his entire body, and four passengers in his vehicle suffered injuries as well. Daniel Schwartz, 16, of CR 56, Nappanee, suffered a broken hip, while Sylvia Hostetler suffered severe bleeding to her face. Kevin D. Yoder, 16, CR 640N, Etna Green, suffered a broken back, and Carolyn Hostetler, 16, of Ash Road, Nappanee, complained of pain to her entire body.
According to Lehman's parents, he had just purchased the van and they did not think he had insurance on the vehicle.
