Six hurt in crash (01/26/08)

A total of six people - two of them students - were injured in Friday morning's five-vehicle collision near Fiat.

Along with the two female students, ages 9 and 14, a Fort Recovery woman, a Berne woman, a rural Bryant man and a Redkey man were injured.

The students and Chandra M. Dawson, 26, 481 Schroeder Road, Fort Recovery, were transported to Jay County Hospital for their injuries. The students suffered bruises and back pain.

Michelle R. Wolf, 32, 1226 Yoder Strasee, Berne, and Jerry W. Lofton Jr., 49, Redkey, were transported to Caylor-Nickel Hospital, Bluffton. Ruben Schwartz, 28, 2995 West 850 North, Bryant, was transported to Lutheran Hospital, Fort Wayne. A hospital spokesperson said Friday night that Schwartz had been released from the hospital.

According to Indiana State Police, the 7:14 a.m. accident occurred in the westbound lanes of Ind. 18, one-half mile east of Ind. 1.

The Jay School Corporation bus driven by Rinada A. Davis, 47, 9268 West Balbec Road, Pennville, had stopped to pick up a student. Wolf was behind the school bus, Dawson was behind Wolf and Lofton was in the back of the line of traffic. Schwartz was a passenger in Wolf's vehicle.

For some reason, a 2005 Freightliner semi truck driven by Robert E. Wolter, 63, 1624 South Ohio 49, Arcanum, Ohio, failed to stop and struck the rear of the 2001 Chevrolet van driven by Lofton, police said. The accident caused a chain reaction, which forced

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the 2001 Ford Taurus driven by Wolf to hit the rear of the bus. A portion of the vehicle came to rest underneath the school bus.

Wolter was cited by police for following too close and having an expired annual inspection.

According to police, there were 19 students on the bus. The semi is registered to Dick Lavy Trucking Incorporated.

The uninjured students were taken to Pennville Elementary School following the crash, and their parents were contacted. Most of the students went home with their parents.[[In-content Ad]]