JOHNSON COUNTY — Following a serious crash involving five cars and one semi, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office wants to make sure people are staying safe when driving through construction zones.
The crash this morning on State Road 37 landed four people to the hospital and shut down a portion of the highway for six hours.
Two of the people involved in that accident were BilleJo Tilford's grandparents. She said both are currently in the hospital with serious injuries. She has a message for people traveling in construction zones.
"I almost lost two of the greatest people in my life because of a cell phone,” Tilford said. “So just slow down there is no rush. If you need to leave sooner then leave sooner if you have to be somewhere at a certain time."
The Johnson County Sheriff Duane Burgess echoed that sentiment.
"Everybody needs to slow down it is clearly posted,” Burgess said. “They have speed boards out there so that your speed is indicated other people can see it, you can see it mainly, but they need to slow down and travel a safe distance between everyone."
Burgess said it is believed the semi-driver who caused the crash was distracted. They didn’t say if the driver was distracted due to a cellphone, but that it’s too early to know if the semi-driver will be charged with anything. They will be turning all of their information over to the Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office to determine the next steps.
The sheriff's office did add that none of the injuries are life-threatening.
As for Tilford’s grandparents, she said they have a long road to recovery, but she and her family are blessed they are still alive.
-
Police find fewer machine-gun conversion devices in criminals’ hands
Officials with the Indiana Crime Guns Task Force said they seized 14 of the devices, popularly called Glock switches, in the first six months of this year, fewer than they saw last year.
A quiet Wednesday, storms and heavy rain starting Thursday evening
Thursday starts off quiet before showers and storms move in late in the day. Partly cloudy skies remain. Isolated showers and storms stay down in southern Indiana. Low temperatures in the upper 60s.
New DCS director talks 'challenge' of implementing new child welfare laws
The Indiana Department of Child Services is implementing new laws that will require the state agency to be more transparent when a child dies from abuse or neglect.
Three Indianapolis men sentenced to federal prison for string of armed robberies
Three Indianapolis men have been sentenced to federal prison for a series of armed robberies carried out in July 2024.
