November 20, 2003

23-year-old woman dies in wreck

       A Greenwood woman was killed and five other people injured in a T-bone crash on State Road 37 Thursday night.  The victim who died was identified as Sara Vandever, 23, of Greenwood.  The crash happened at 5:22 p.m. at the intersection of State Road 37 and Stones Crossing Road in White River Township.  According to chief sheriff’s deputy Doug Cox, a gold 1986 Lincoln Continental driven by April Lavender, 18, of Greenwood, was eastbound and attempting to cross S.R. 37 from the median of Stones Crossing Road.  It pulled into the path of a northbound, blue 1996 Plymouth minivan. The van’s front end T-boned the car on the passenger’s side, Cox said.  The two crashed vehicles then went off the embankment into the north side of the intersection.  Firefighters from White River Township and Bargersville used cutting tools to extricate the victims from the wreckage.  Vandever had been riding in the front seat of the Lincoln. Lifeline helicopter was called, but Vandever was pronounced dead at the scene and was not transported.  Other patients went to Methodist Hospital. Their injuries and conditions were not available Thursday.  Riding in the Lincoln with April Lavender was her daughter, Brenna Lavender, 21 months, and Kevin Taylor, 19, address unavailable.  Driving the minivan was Linda Purcell, 32, of Martinsville. She was injured along with her passenger, Joan Hampton of Florida.  The northbound minivan had the right of way, Cox said. Exactly why the eastbound Lincoln pulled into its path was unclear. The intersection has a flashing light: red for Stones Crossing traffic, yellow for S.R. 37. traffic.  Accident investigator Don Harris of Greenwood police was assisting county sheriff’s deputies at the scene in reconstructing what happened.  (Reprinted with permission from the Daily Journal)

 

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