An Edinburgh woman remained in critical condition the day after the bicycle she was riding on was struck by a pickup truck.
The driver of the pickup told police it was dark along the rural road, and he had moved to the side of the road when a passing vehicle didn’t turn off its bright headlights, according to a police report.
Jake Shelton, 27, was riding a bicycle along the side of the road, with his sister Cody Shelton, 28, riding on the pegs of the bike. The two live on the road where the accident happened, according to the report.
The shoulder of County Road 800E is narrow, the road has no streetlights, and the accident happened just before 10 p.m., police said.
Isaiah Sutt, 22, Franklin, told police he flashed his lights at the other vehicle that had its bright headlights on. The other driver dimmed the lights but then turned the bright headlights on again, and Sutt moved toward the side of the road. Sutt heard a loud noise and thought he might have hit a deer. He stopped his truck, got out, saw a woman and a bike behind his truck and called 911, the report said.
Sutt waved down a passing vehicle for help after the accident. The man who stopped told police he saw a man, later identified as Jake Shelton, get up out of a ditch and begin shaking his injured sister and yelling at her. The man told Jake Shelton to stop. Jake Shelton then left and walked home, according to the report.
He told police he went home to tell his mother about the accident and took a shower before going to Johnson Memorial Hospital to be checked out, the report said. Jake Shelton refused to allow his blood to be drawn for a blood-alcohol test at the hospital.
Such tests are typical in accidents that cause serious injuries.
An alcohol breath test showed Sutt, the driver of the truck, had no alcohol in his system. Police also sent his blood to be tested but at this point have no reason to suspect he was intoxicated, Sheriff Doug Cox said.
Cody Shelton was flown by medical helicopter to Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, where the hospital listed her in critical condition Thursday morning.
