Capsule Reports - Saturday, Aug. 19, 2023

Children hurt

Two children were injured when a truck they were riding in hit a tree  along county road 800 South on Thursday.

Donald E. Ervin, 64, Portland, was driving east on the road near the intersection with county road 800 West when his 2003 Ford F-150 hit a tree in the road. Ervin later told police he didn’t know the road was closed. (According to a Jay County Sheriff’s Office report, road closed signs had been put up prior to the accident.)

Passenger Dustin L. Franks, 12, Portland, had a bruise on his hand and was bleeding from the other hand, and passenger Chett R. Childress, 7, Portland, had bleeding around his left eye.

The truck was towed, with damage estimated between $10,000 and $25,000. Ervin was cited for driving without insurance.

Left the scene

A Jay County man was arrested after allegedly leaving the scene of an accident at the intersection of Indiana 1 and Indiana 67 about 3:36 p.m. Thursday.

Blake W. Price, 32, was driving his 2006 Cadillac DTS behind a 2012 Honda Odyssey, driven by 41-year-old Megan M. Downham of Dunkirk. He crashed into the back of Downham’s vehicle, turned around and left the scene of the accident, according to a Jay County Sheriff’s Office report.

Damage is estimated between $1,000 and $2,500. Price was preliminarily charged with a Class B misdemeanor for leaving the scene of an accident. He was released on a $1,000 bond from Jay County Jail.

Off road

Damage is estimated between $10,000 and $25,000 after a car veered off Indiana 67 and into a ditch about 2 a.m. Wednesday.

According to a Jay County Sheriff’s Office report, 19-year-old Mikah S. Howard was driving north on the highway near county road 700 South when the 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer she was driving went off the west side of the road into a ditch. The vehicle got back onto the road and rolled onto its top.

Howard told police a man named Jake was driving the car, the report says, but police reported the measurements of the driver’s seat match Howard’s appearance and noted she was the only one at the scene of the accident. She told police she didn’t know where Jake went because she had been asleep in the passenger seat.

Howard was transported to IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital, where she was treated or a broken finger. She was given a blood alcohol and drug test with results pending.

The vehicle is registered to Jack B. Morlan of Craigville, and it was towed.

Disregarded sign

Damage is estimated between $5,000 and $10,000 after a Portland man disregarded a stop sign at the intersection of Arch and Harrison streets, causing an accident about 11:42 a.m. Monday.

According to a Portland police report, William A. Bice, 75, was driving his 2014 Ford F-150 north on Harrison Street and continued without stopping at the intersection, causing him to crash into a 1996 Chevrolet Blazer driven by 27-year-old Jacob W. Priest of Portland. (Traffic on Harrison Street has a stop sign, but traffic on Arch Street does not.)

The Chevrolet Blazer is registered to Katherine E. Rich of Hartford City. It was towed.

Priest was preliminarily charged with a Class A misdemeanor for driving with a suspended license on Monday. He was released from Jay County Jail on a $1,000 bond.

Struck sign

A Michigan truck driver broke a stop sign in Portland while driving off the truck route about 8:51 p.m. Wednesday.

Darwin A. Kalczynski, 60, Williamson, was driving a 2017 Freighliner Cascadia and turned off Votaw Street to go south on Wayne Street. As he turned, the semi trailer struck a sign in the southwest corner of the intersection and broke it, according to a Portland police report. 

Jeff Hopkins witnessed the accident. Kalczynski continued driving until police stopped him.

The vehicle Kalczynski was driving is registered to Transway Incorporated of Holland, Michigan. Damage is estimated at less than $1,000.