Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
A Warsaw man is in fair condition in a Fort Wayne hospital after a Thursday evening accident near Silver Lake in which another man was arrested for drunk driving, and a Warsaw woman is listed in stable condition at Kosciusko Community Hospital, Warsaw, after being injured in a Thursday morning accident.
According to the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department, Larry D. Hursell, 40, of West Center Street, Warsaw, suffered internal and head injuries in a 5:20 p.m. accident at the intersection of Ind. 14 and CR 100W. Because of the severity of his injuries, Hursell was airlifted from the scene to Parkview Memorial Hospital, Fort Wayne.
Hursell was a passenger in a car driven by Arthur T. Linville, 55, of West CR 1500S, Silver Lake, when Linville allegedly failed to stop for a stop sign on CR 100W and pulled into the path of a westbound car driven by Tonya L. Conley, 22, of South CR 100E, Claypool.
Both Conley and a witness to the accident told police that Linville did not stop for the stop sign. Conley's car struck Linville's in the passenger side, where Hursell was seated. Police said Conley was unable to avoid the collision.
Linville and Hursell were both trapped in the car until a Silver Lake Fire Department crew was able to free them. Prior to Linville being extricated from his car, emergency personnel noted that he had an open can of beer between his legs. A blood-alcohol test revealed Linville's blood-alcohol level to be .17 percent - nearly twice the limit for someone to be considered intoxicated in Indiana.
After being treated for minor injuries, Linville was booked into the Kosciusko County Jail on a charge of driving while intoxicated/causing serious injury, a Class D felony. Bond was set at $3,000.
Conley also suffered minor injuries and was treated at KCH and released. Damage to each vehicle was listed at $2,500 to $5,000.
In the Thursday morning accident, Patricia K. Larson, 30, of Huntington, and Gayle Terri Ogden, 49, of Country Club Road, Warsaw, both complained of chest pain. Larson was treated at KCH and released and Odgen was admitted.
According to a KCSD report, Larson was westbound on CR 400S about 8:15 a.m. when Odgen's vehicle pulled into her path at the intersection of Packerton Road.
The officer who investigated the accident noted that Larson's vision may have been obstructed by a high embankment at the northeast corner of the intersection where there are weeds and corn growing, making it difficult to see unless a motorist pulls almost into the intersection.
Damage to each vehicle is listed at $2,500 to $5,000.
