Woman killed in crash on Ind. 37

By Brandi Watters, Herald Bulletin Staff Writer

June 30, 2009 10:42 pm

— STRAWTOWN — A traffic accident along Indiana 37 claimed the life of an unidentified woman Tuesday afternoon.
At press time, police had not yet released the name of the woman who died when her vehicle collided with a dump truck carrying sand.
According to Hamilton County Sheriff’s Deputy Vicky Dunbar, the woman was driving eastbound on Strawtown Avenue shortly before 2:45 p.m. Tuesday and failed to yield to a passing dump truck going southbound on Indiana 37.
Anderson resident Forrest Fairchild, 19, arrived on the scene minutes after the crash as he headed to Anderson. He had been visiting a friend in Cicero.
Fairchild said he instantly knew the crash had been fatal.
“You could sort of sense that in the air that there was a fatality there,” he said. “You could see how the car was mangled like a squashed pop can.”
Fairchild said he believed the accident was likely caused by what he calls a notoriously unsafe intersection.
“All the people I know claim that’s a dangerous intersection,” Fairchild said. “I don’t know why the state hasn’t put in a stop light.”
Fairchild said it’s difficult to see oncoming traffic at certain points in the intersection.
“It took the life of an innocent woman,” he added.
Fairchild said he hopes the accident is a lesson to local officials. “Somebody might see this and say we need to look at this intersection and redesign it because it’s unsafe the way it is.”