Staff Reports
Three people suffered serious injuries in a two-vehicle accident at 10:13 a.m. Wednesday at the intersection of County Road 600S and U.S. 31.
Capt. Dave Steinkoenig said the accident occurred when a 1994 Ford dually truck driven by Dallas Johnson, 37, Columbus, had some sort of brake malfunction as Johnson was traveling west on County Road 600S. That malfunction caused him to not be able to stop at the stop sign at U.S. 31 where he was t-boned on the driver’s side by a 2009 Chrysler 300 traveling north at highway speed on U.S. 31, Steinkoenig said.
The Chrysler was driven by Robert Toppe, 71, Commiskey, who had a passenger, Willadean Toppe, 72, Commiskey, Steinkoenig said.
Johnson was extricated from his truck by Columbus Township firefighters and taken by IU Health Lifeline helicopter to an Indianapolis hospital. Robert and Willadean Toppe were extricated from their vehicle by Columbus Fire Department Squad 2 and were taken to Columbus Regional Hospital by ambulance, Steinkoenig said.
An initial call about the accident indicated a semi had been involved in the accident, but that was not true, Steinkoenig said. The semi driver was traveling behind the Toppe car, and was not involved in the accident, although the semi driver provided details about the accident.
Johnson’s truck came to rest in a field off of County Road 600S and the car came to a stop on 600S on the west side of U.S. 31. Investigators were at the scene for about an hour and a half.
Indiana State Police assisted at the scene with traffic control.
