Deaths on stretch of Toll Road hit 20

"At this point, we don't know the reason," State Police Sgt. Trent Smith said. "It's one of the worst accidents that we've had."

State Police reported those killed were Cherokee occupants Douglas and Mary Helen George, Springfield, N.H., along with pickup truck driver Mark Repp, Sturgis, Mich. The passengers killed in the other truck were Merle Miller, 44, Ligonier; Lester Yoder, 36, Topeka; and Vernan Miller, 38; Samuel Yoder, 46, and his son, Anthony Yoder, 17, all of Wolcottville.

Investigators blamed the crash on driver inattention, but no charges were immediately filed against the semi driver, Leonardo Cooksey, 31, Mount Prospect, Ill., who was not injured. Investigators said they would send their report to the county prosecutor.

The crash brought to at least 20 the number of people killed in crashes involving semis since August 2005 on a short stretch of the east-west tollway, which also is I-80 and 90.

Those crashes, plus two involving semis on I-69 -- one a year ago that killed four Taylor University students and a staff member and one April 19 that killed the daughter of state Sen. Tim Skinner -- prompted action by lawmakers Thursday.

The state Senate passed a resolution sponsored by Sen. Thomas J. Wyss, R-Fort Wayne, calling for a study committee on vehicle crashes involving commercial motor vehicles.

Wyss said he has been concerned about the number of large trucks passing through Indiana. The death of Skinner's daughter, whose car was struck from behind by a semi, and Thursday's crash reinforced those concerns.

"Eight deaths, one crash. Whatever you do, don't call them accidents," he said. "They are crashes, and they are done by irresponsible, aggressive commercial vehicle drivers."

Kenny Cragen, president of the Indiana Motor Truck Association, said he supports the study.

FATALITIES ON THE TOLL ROAD

Since August 2005, 12 other people have been killed in three accidents involving semitrailer trucks on a stretch of the Indiana Toll Road where eight people died Thursday. Those crashes:

• Aug. 2, 2006: A semi crashed into vehicles stopped in a construction zone on the Toll Road near Bristol, killing the truck driver and four members of one family, including two children.

• May 10, 2006: A semi crashed into an SUV along the Toll Road in Middlebury, killing a woman and her two children.

• Aug. 21, 2005: A semi rear-ended a vehicle along the Toll Road near Bristol, causing a chain-reaction accident that left four dead.

-- Associated Press

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