Seven people were injured and at least one remains in the hospital in critical condition after police said a man left the scene of an accident, drove on the wrong side of the road, and then hit another vehicle head-on.
Just before 3:30 p.m. Saturday, police were called to an accident on Stones Crossing Road, east of State Road 135, where multiple people were injured. Once they got there, officers learned the driver who had struck another car head-on, Jason Wheat, 38, of Greenwood, had been followed by another driver, who said Wheat struck his vehicle and left shortly after, according to the Greenwood Police Department report.
The other driver told police that after he had been rear-ended at Tracy and Honey Creek roads, Wheat drove away and he followed him. On Stones Crossing Road, the other driver saw Wheat drive into oncoming traffic twice to get past cars, before hitting a vehicle head-on, injuring multiple people, the police report said.
Witnesses told police Wheat was driving faster than the speed limit of 40 mph, and had driven into oncoming traffic to pass one car. As Wheat attempted to pass a second car, he collided head-on with a vehicle in the other lane going in the opposite direction, the report said.
Frank Broaddus, 57, of Greenwood, who was driving the car Wheat hit, was treated at the scene for shoulder pain. Four passengers in Broaddus’ vehicle — one adult and three children — were also injured in the crash.
Wheat was in critical condition as of Tuesday afternoon, a hospital spokesperson said. He had to have emergency surgery for internal bleeding, according to the police report.
Two of the children in the vehicle Wheat hit, Grant Baldwin, 13, and Boston Baldwin, 5, were taken to Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health for treatment and were later released, a hospital spokesperson said. A third child, 4-year-old Jake Baldwin, was taken to a hospital for surgery, but his condition was not available Tuesday afternoon. Ian Baldwin, 35, was taken to Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital to be treated for arm and neck pain, the report said. He was treated and released, a hospital spokesperson said.
A third driver, Shannon McMahon, 43, of Whiteland, was also injured. She told police she was driving west on Stones Crossing Road when Wheat passed her. She wasn’t certain of how her vehicle had been damaged in the crash, the report said. McHahon was taken to a hospital for treatment, but no update on her condition was available Tuesday.
