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LEESBURG - Alcohol was a factor, police said, in a Tuesday night accident that left a Warsaw man in critical condition at a Fort Wayne hospital.
Richard T. Groomes, 48, of North Birdview Drive, Warsaw, suffered a closed head injury in the 10:14 p.m. accident on Ind. 15, 1,000 feet north of Levi Lee Road, near Leesburg. Groomes was unconscious at the scene after being ejected from his vehicle. His blood-alcohol level after the accident was .186 percent. A driver is considered to be intoxicated if he has a blood-alcohol content of .10 percent or more.
According to a Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department report, Groomes was southbound on Ind. 15 when he apparently lost control of his pickup and left the roadway. The vehicle rolled over several times before striking a utility pole and coming to rest on its top. Groomes was ejected prior to the impact with the pole and was found on the ground at the accident scene.
KCSD Deputy Travis Marsh noted in his reported that he stabilized Groomes' neck until emergency medical personnel arrived and, while holding Groomes' head, noted the odor of an alcoholic beverage. He asked that a sample of Groomes' blood be taken and a citation will be issued for driving while intoxicated.
Groomes was airlifted to Parkview Memorial Hospital, Fort Wayne, where an official said this morning his condition is critical.
The accident remains under investigation.
