October 3, 1979

Youth killed in tragic crash

       A Center Grove high school freshman was killed in a tragic automobile accident on Stones Crossing Road near the school Tuesday afternoon. Rescue workers had been at the scene of a grinding two-car collision for nearly 45 minutes before they found the body of David Wayne Kennedy, 14, West Stones Crossing Road, Greenwood, underneath on of the two vehicles. Four other persons were injured in the crash, two of them fellow Center Grove students who had been riding in the same car with Kennedy, and the other two, a father and daughter riding in a pickup truck when the accident occurred at about 4:20 p.m. The two vehicles collided on Stones Crossing Road (County Road 700N) about one-quarter mile east of Center Grove High School and Middle School. Injured and transported to St. Francis Hospital Center in Beech Grove were: William A. Carrico, 31, and Tiffany Carrico, 12, both of 3228 Stella Street in the Critchfield subdivision, White River Township. Jeffery Brian Jones, 15, 2340 South State Road 135, Greenwood, and Michael David Cantin, 13, 2292 Wedgeway Court, Greenwood. Cantin was listed in “satisfactory” condition and William Carrico was listed in “good” condition at St. Francis Hospital this morning. Tiffany Carrico and Jones were released from the hospital after treatment. Johnson County sheriff’s deputies were still investigating several aspects of the accident this morning. Preliminary investigation indicated that Kennedy, Jones and Cantin were all riding in a 1964 Ford, which reportedly belonged to a grandmother of one of the three. Deputy Mike McElwain said this morning there are conflicting stories as to which of the boys was driving the car, which reportedly had been traveling up and down Stones Crossing Road at high rates of speed for some time before the accident. None of the three youths was old enough to hold a driver’s license. The Ford was traveling eastbound at about 70 miles per hour, McElwain estimated, when it swerved to the right causing the right front wheel to go off the road briefly. The car then swerved back left onto the roadway, crossed the center line and struck the 1971 Chevrolet El Camino driven by Carrico, deputies believe. The Carrico vehicle apparently was westbound at about 45 miles per hour when the collision occurred, McElwain said. “The impact was tremendous” in the head-on crash, the deputy commented. The Ford apparently pivoted around on impact, throwing the three boys out. The collision may have caused the El Camino to rock up, investigators have speculated, but did not roll over. Instead, the vehicle apparently fell back down on its wheels, landing on top of Kennedy. Johnson County Coroner Richard Tudor, who was called to the scene after Kennedy’s body was found, said this morning he has ruled the death accidental. The cause of death is listed as “fractured dislocation of cervical vertebrae”- a broken neck. Kennedy also suffered a skull fracture, Tudor said. Funeral services for the youth are pending at Wilson-St. Pierre Greenwood Chapel. Rescue workers from the White River Township Volunteer Fire Department responded to the accident call immediately, and were soon joined by sheriff’s deputies and several members of the Perry Township Fire Department of Marion County. Rescue workers promptly began treating the Carrico’s, Jones and Cantin. After about  40  minutes of work, including use of the Perry Township Fire Department’s power extrication tool, William Carrico was freed from the El Camino where he was trapped by the steering wheel. Tiffany Carrico and Jones were transported to St. Francis by the Greenwood Operation of Life Ambulance. William Carrico and Cantin were taken to the hospital by Myers Ambulance Service paramedic ambulance. Almost immediately after freeing William Carrico, rescue workers discovered Kennedy’s body under the pickup truck. “We were cleaning up our equipment and getting ready to go when we saw a sock,” under the wrecked vehicle, White River Assistant Chief Dale Bancroft said. That was at about 5:12 p.m. Kennedy was completely hidden under the El Camino, which landed in a field just off the north edge of the pavement. Rescue workers lifted the vehicle off Kennedy, whom the coroner said had died almost immediately after the collision. Deputies and Tudor were unable to confirm the youth’s identity at the scene. The coroner said identification was made later with the help of the boy’s father, Richard C. Kennedy, 3097 West Stones Crossing Road, Greenwood, and a neighbor, Dr. Joel Hunter. Jones is the son of Paul and Sharon Jones. Cantin’s parents are Richard and Mary Cantin. McElwain said persons in the area of the crash told deputies the Ford had been seen traveling up and down Stones Crossing Road near the site since 3:30 or 3:45 p.m. Deputies were not able to determine which of the three Center Grove students was driving when the collision occurred, though McElwain believes all three were in the front seat. There were reports the Ford had been driving around near the high school parking lot. It was also rumored at the scene that a girl had been a passenger in the car, but had got out at or near the high school perhaps 15 minutes before the crash. Indications at the scene were that one of the two injured boys crawled out from beneath the Ford, where he may have been thrown during the collision. Tiffany Carrico apparently crawled out of the El Camino into the adjacent soybean field as rescue crews arrived. Two Indiana State Police troopers and a half a dozen county deputies aided at the scene.  (Reprinted with permission from the Daily Journal)

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