Three people were injured at two separate crashes at the same site on US 31 in Fulton County Thursday.
Just after 2 p.m. Thursday, emergency personnel in Fulton County were dispatched to County Road 700 North and US 31 for a crash involving a semi and a passenger vehicle.
The preliminary investigation by Sr. Deputy Matt Craig shows a 2008 Chevrolet pickup driven by Tobias Mullet, 34, of Nappanee, was traveling west on 700 North and crossing US 31. The pickup drove into a southbound semi drive by Christopher Wallace, 30, of Holton. The semi was a milk tanker and empty at the time of the crash.
Mullet suffered head injuries and was transported by ground ambulance to South Bend Memorial.
Wallace sustained apparent minor injuries and was transported to Woodlawn Hospital for treatment.
An employee for Reichert & Knepp was struck by a recovery vehicle while recovering the semi at the initial accident scene. A 1989 Blue International recovery vehicle driven to the scene by Matthew Riffel, 38, of Plymouth, was left in neutral without the emergency brake engaged. The unoccupied vehicle rolled down the embankment and struck Tyler Newton, 34, of Lapaz. Newton avoided further injury when the recovery vehicle was stopped by a tire of the crashed semi.
Newton was able to be removed from the two vehicles without any mechanical extrication. He suffered a leg injury and was transported to South Bend Memorial.
Various lane closures continued at the accident scene for approximately three hours. The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, Rochester Fire Depatment, Lutheran EMS, Fulton County EMA and INDOT provided aid at the crash site.
