STEUBEN COUNTY, IN (WTVB) – The Chief Deputy of the Steuben County Sheriff’s Department escaped serious injury Thursday morning when he was struck by a passing pickup truck while assisting with traffic control duties at the scene of an accident at the intersection of State Road 120 and County Road 175 West.
Indiana State Police say Chief Deputy Michael Meeks was struck by a pickup driven by 53-year-old Gary Thompson of Mishawaka.
Meeks suffered a minor injury and was checked out at the scene by Steuben County E.M.S.. Thompson was not injured but he was cited for disregarding a traffic control officer.
It was the second of two crashes on Thursday morning at the same location.
The first crash took place about a half hour before Meeks was struck. No serious injuries were reported in the head on crash involving a freightliner and a 2000 Ford Explorer. Indiana State Police say driver fatigue contributed to the driver of the Explorer going left of center and colliding with the frieghtliner. The driver of the semi took evasive action but was unable to avoid the collission.
39-year-old Fernando Fernandez-Perez of Angola was the driver of the Explorer. He was treated at the scene for minor injuries. Both vehicles were considered a total loss in the crash.
