Man Arrested for Drunk Driving Crash with Injuries
Posted
Kaitie Vanderpool-
A Huntington man was arrested Wednesday as a result of a drunk driving collision in Kosciusko County which seriously injured four other people. According to a probable cause affidavit filed by the Kosciusko County Prosecutor’s Office, John J. Etter Jr., 61, Huntington, was traveling on South County Farm Road near the intersection of CR 350S on June 3 around 6:10 p.m. when he crossed the center line and struck head-on a vehicle driven by Gary Spangle, 43, Claypool. When rescue personnel arrived, they found Etter lying in the roadway. Etter was airlifted from the scene and transported to Lutheran Hospital, Fort Wayne, in serious condition with hip and chest injuries, according to a press release provided following the incident. Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory extricated the passenger of the second vehicle, later identified as Maxine J. Spangle, 51, Claypool, who was also airlifted from the scene to Lutheran Hospital in serious condition with leg injuries, including femoral fractures, a fracture of the lumbar vertebra and a fracture of the neck. Gary Spangle suffered a patella fracture. Also injured in Spangle’s vehicle were Hunter Haines, 15, and Madison Haines, 14, both of Claypool. They suffered from shoulder and head injuries, respectively, and were transported to Kosciusko Community Hospital, Warsaw, in stable condition. Etter had been drinking prior to the incident and blood results registered a .15 BAC, according to police. Etter was arrested Wednesday and charged with operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury and three counts of criminal recklessness and held on a $2,500 bond.
