SHELBYVILLE – A dump truck driven by a Hope resident was one of five vehicles involved in a Wednesday morning accident that claimed the life of a Shelby County woman.
Tim Reed, 47, of Hope, sustained minor injuries during the 10 a.m. pileup on State Road 44, about two miles west of Shelbyville, said Maj. Louie Koch of the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department.
However, another driver, identified as Haley Wells, 29 of Shelbyville, was pronounced dead at the scene from injuries she sustained during the accident, Koch said.
The chain-reaction accident began when a pickup truck, driven by Richard Barnett Jr., 51, of Franklin, veered left of center near the intersection of Marietta Road, just east of the Big Blue River, Koch said.
Barnett’s eastbound pickup first struck Reed’s dump truck before continuing out of control and sideswiping two more vehicles, Koch said.
The pickup did not come to a stop until it smashed head-on into a van driven by Wells, he said.
A passenger in the van, Jeremy Wells, 34, was among individuals treated by emergency medical technicians before being taken to IU Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, Koch said.
The two drivers who had their vehicles sideswiped were identified as Samantha Morrison, 34, of Franklin, and Kathy Borowitz 53, of Shelbyville.
Firefighters from Shelbyville and Marietta, as well as troopers from the Indiana State Police, assisted Shelby County deputies at the scene.
