Friday, Oct. 17, 2025 - Capsule reports

Combine fire

A combine was destroyed in a fire Tuesday in rural Redkey.

Redkey Fire Department responded to a call about 5:13 p.m. for a combine on fire along county road 900 South just west of 1100 West. Three firetrucks arrived on scene to fight the flames, putting out the fire in about 30 minutes. The combine is owned by Retter Farms.

Parking accident

A Portland woman's leg was injured after a car pulled next to her while she was exiting the vehicle along Park Street about 1:55 p.m. Monday.

Geraldine Irwin-Elliot, 75, Pennville, was driving her 2008 Ford F-150 and turning into what she believed was a parking space at 200 N. Park St., Portland. Markings didn’t allow for parking in the area, according to a Jay County Sheriff’s Office report. Her vehicle hit a parked 2010 Mercury Milan. Katherine Robert, 80, was attempting to get out of the vehicle at the time of the crash and caught her lower leg in the door.

Damage is estimated between $2,500 and $5,000. 

Mirror hit

A Bluffton man’s semi truck hit the sideview mirror on a Portland woman’s car along U.S. 27 in Jay County about 5:40 p.m. Wednesday.

Ashley N. Byer, 23, Portland, was driving her 2017 Ford Fusion north on the highway and turning into the driveway at 5510 N. U.S. 27, Bryant. At the same time, Samuel R. Schaefer, 73, was driving his 2019 Kenworth and passed them on east side. The truck hit Byer’s mirror on the passenger side and broke it.

Schaefer didn’t realize he struck Byer’s vehicle, and police tracked him down by a picture of the semi’s license plate. Damage is estimated between $1,000 and $2,500.