October 8, 2004

Teen dies after skidding into pond

       Sarah L. Tempest stopped by her boyfriend’s house after work Wednesday night and promised she’d call him when she got home.  The 17-year-old never made the call. She never got home.  Tempest was driving to her White River Township home when she swerved off Demaree Road and plunged into a pond about 11:30 p.m.  She was less than a half-mile from her house on Greensview Drive in the El Dorado subdivision near State Road 135.  In the end, a brave rescue attempt from an alert college student and efforts by scuba divers and emergency responders weren’t enough to save Tempest.  The teenager was pulled from the submerged wreckage about 30 minutes after the emergency call came in to police about the one-car crash at 11:37 p.m., according to Chief Deputy Doug Cox of the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.  She was taken to Community Hospital South in Indianapolis and pronounced dead, police said.

         On Thursday morning, investigators returned to the accident scene to piece together what might have happened. Green dots painted on the two-lane road showed where Tempest’s dark-colored Ford Contour was driving west along Demaree Road before swerving off the road.  Investigators believe her car crossed into the other lane and Tempest tried to overcorrect, sending her car crashing through the fence and plunging into the pond, Cox said.  “We may never know what happened or exactly what caused her to overcorrect,” he said.  There is no sign that alcohol or drugs were involved in the one-car crash, Cox said.

         Her car landed upside down in the water and was submerged in at least six feet of water, according to a witness who heard the accident from across the street and jumped into the water to try to save her.  IUPUI student Josh Chrenko, 19, of Mooresville was visiting his girlfriend’s house when the accident happened. He tried to rescue Tempest but couldn’t because of darkness, muddy water and locked car doors. 

         Tempest was trapped inside for at least 30 minutes, and divers were also unable to rescue her in time, Cox said.  Divers from the sheriff’s office, Greenwood Fire Department and White River Township Fire Department all attempted to rescue Tempest from the vehicle, he said.  An autopsy is being performed to determine the exact cause of Tempest’s death and whether she drowned or died from injuries from the accident, according to WISH-Channel 8.

         Tempest was on her way home from her boyfriend’s after working until 9:30 p.m., according to her mother, Bonnie Tempest.  The teenager worked at Culver’s of Greenwood on State Road 135 but had stopped by her boyfriend’s house before heading home, Tempest’s mother said.  Her boyfriend could not be reached Thursday.  See follow-up story HERE.  (Reprinted with permission from the Daily Journal)

   

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