Rider is dragged hundreds of feetBy Sophia Voravong
svoravong@journalandcourier.com
Vehicle parts, clothing and other debris lay scattered in a residential neighborhood on Lafayette's east side after a pickup truck collided with a mo-ped late Tuesday, leaving the strong aroma of gasoline in the air.
The mo-ped rider suffered severe head and body trauma after being dragged by the pickup truck for several hundred feet, Sgt. Tom Davidson of the Lafayette Police Department said. The occupants of an older-model pickup truck -- a male and female -- also were injured after the truck crashed into a tree off Rome Drive, just west of Creasy Lane.
No names were available by the Journal and Courier's deadline. The cause of the wreck also had not been determined.
"I just can't believe it. It's just awful," witness Kyle Lewis said, shaking his head in dismay while watching the aftermath of the 9:27 p.m. wreck that closed a portion of Creasy Lane for several hours.
Lewis, of Lafayette, said he was driving south on Creasy Lane, just south of Indiana 26, when he saw sparks coming from under a pickup truck in the opposite direction. The pickup truck started swerving back and forth, as if trying to dislodge something underneath, he said.
That's when Lewis looked out his window and "just saw brown," which he learned was the mo-ped rider's coveralls. Lewis said he turned around to follow the pickup truck north on Creasy before it turned into the neighborhood because he said it appeared to be leaving the scene of the crash.
Officer Tim Bonner, a crash reconstructionist, said the two vehicles collided at Creasy Lane and Fortune Drive, which is just south of Indiana 26.
The mo-ped rider was found lying in front of a home on Rome Drive. The wrecked mo-ped was found about 400 feet ahead of the rider. The destroyed pickup truck was located another 300 feet ahead of the mo-ped, Davidson said.
Several crash reconstructionists at the scene late Tuesday were sifting through the debris, trying to determine what happened. A handgun was among the items sitting in the middle of the road.
Lt. Jeanette Bennett said the injured parties were taken to the hospital by ambulance, likely were to St. Elizabeth Medical Center.
