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A second Kosciusko County resident was killed on U.S. 30 Monday when a tractor-trailer struck the car she was driving.
Shawnee R. Ulrey, 21, Packerton Road, Warsaw, was killed at 5 p.m. Monday at the intersection of U.S. 30 and CR 150W, Warsaw. It was the second fatality Monday in Warsaw. Three-year-old Briana Slater was killed earlier in the day only 1-1/2 miles from where Ulrey died.
Ulrey was pronounced dead at the scene by the Kosciusko County coroner's office from head and internal injuries.
The semi was eastbound on U.S. 30 approaching the intersection when it apparently failed to stop at the red traffic signal on U.S. 30, witnesses told police.
According to the witness reports, the semi driven by Michael Lee Sanger, 41, of Sabula, Iowa, ran through the red automatic signal and struck Ulrey's car, which was headed north on the county road.
Ulrey's car was struck in the driver's side and spun out into the median area after the impact.
The driver of the semi, Sanger, was uninjured.
According to police reports, at least two witnesses at the intersection stated they saw the traffic signal for the north/south county road turn green before the crash and saw other traffic going through the intersection from the county road. A witness driving behind the semi told police that he never saw the semi's brake lights come on before the crash.
Sanger told police he believed the red light turned green for his eastbound lane as he approached the intersection.
The Kosciusko County Sheriff's department is continuing the investigation.
It is not believed that alcohol was a factor in the accident. It is unknown if Ulrey was wearing a seat belt because of the extent of the car's damage.
The traffic signal light at U.S. 30 and CR 150W was put up this summer after state officials determined the intersection was dangerous. A woman was killed there in October of 1995 when a pickup pulled into her path as she rode her motorcycle on U.S. 30. There have been several other accidents involving injuries at the intersection since that time.
Assisting the sheriff's department at the scene were the Warsaw Fire Department, Multi-Township EMS, Plain Township EMS and the Warsaw Police Department.
The information regarding the accident has been forwarded to the Kosciusko County prosecutor's office. Prosecutor David Kolbe said today his investigator would check Sanger's background and log of his driving.
Ulrey was the second person to die on U.S. 30 Monday. Briana R. Slater, 3, of Leesburg, was killed around 8:45 a.m. only 1-1/2 miles from where Ulrey was killed.
The car Briana was riding in was traveling south on Fox Farm Road and crossed the westbound lane of U. S. 30 into the median. The driver, her mother, Heather R. Slater, then started across the eastbound lanes of U.S. 30 and pulled into the path of a car driven by Helen Bennett. Slater's car then spun and struck a third vehicle stopped at the south side of the intersection.
The drivers received minor injuries and were treated and released at Kosciusko Community Hospital. The passengers in Slater's car included her husband, Donald, who was treated for a concussion and abrasions. Two other children, Chelsey R. Sandlin, 6, and Andria Slater, 1, were also treated at KCH.
Briana was pronounced dead of internal injuries at KCH by the Kosciusko County coroner's office.
The car headed east on U.S. 30 struck the Slaters' car in the rear passenger's side where Briana was sitting.
All three children were wearing seatbelts. Investigation continues in this accident.
Slater's and Ulrey's deaths marked the 11th and 12th fatalities on Kosciusko County roads this year. Fatalities are down almost 50 percent from 1996, since the county had 22 traffic fatalities this time last year.
Obituaries for Ulrey and Slater are on page 3 of today's Times-Union.
