Capsule Reports - Wednesday, May 15, 2024

Lost control

Damage is estimated between $5,000 and $10,000 after a Portland teen drove off county road 400 North and into a woods about 7:03 p.m. Monday.

Gabe A. Pinkerton, 17, was driving his 200 Ford Ranger west on the road just west of county road 250 West. He told police he looked away from the road to change his radio and drove off the north side of the road. He said he must have mistaken the brakes for the accelerator, causing him to drive through a ditch. He overcorrected and avoided crashing into a tree on the north side of the road but then went off the south side of the road into a wooded area, according to a Jay County Sheriff’s Office report.

Pinkerton’s vehicle was towed, with damage estimated between $5,000 and $10,000.

Vehicle collision

A Portland man complained of head pain after he drove into the back of a semi truck at the intersection of Indiana 26 and State Line Road about 3:49 p.m. Friday.

Rios Floridalma, 25, was stopped at the intersection headed south on State Line Road, according to a Jay County Sheriff’s Office report. He drove forward and struck the trailer of a westbound 2024 Volvo truck on Indiana 26 driven by 52-year-old Cody L. Smith of Rexburg, Idaho.

Floridalma was cited for driving without a license and driving without insurance. The vehicle he was driving was towed, with damage estimated between $10,000 and $25,000.

The Volvo is registered to James H. Clark and Son of Salt Lake City, Utah.