A 4-year-old girl was one of three people injured after a vehicle that did not stop for a Wayne County sheriff’s deputy crashed into a tree, police said.
Shortly before 4:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 30, Wayne County Deputy Adam Blanton was southbound on North West Fifth Street in Richmond in his fully marked police car.
Blanton was nearly struck when a white Ford Focus ran the stop sign on Randolph Street and turned onto southbound North West Fifth Street, according to an Indiana State Police press release from Sgt. John Bowling, public information officer.
Blanton activated his lights to stop the car, but the male driver refused to stop and instead attempted to accelerate away from the deputy, the release said. Blanton followed behind the vehicle with his lights and siren activated as the Focus turned onto westbound National Road.
The car continued westbound at a high rate of speed until reaching some westbound traffic stopped at the light at the intersection of National Road West and Toschlog Road, the release said.
A preliminary investigation by ISP Trooper Mark Hanna indicates that as the car swerved into the eastbound lanes to go around the stopped or slowed traffic, the driver lost control. As the Focus attempted to swerve back into the westbound lanes, the driver overcorrected, which caused the car to go back across the eastbound lanes sideways, leaving the south side of the road, Bowling said.
As the car left the south side of the road, it crossed a driveway, which launched the car sideways through the air into a large tree, the release said.
The driver, Daniel Arguijo, 19, of New Paris, Ohio, was taken to Reid Health with non-life-threatening injuries. His passenger, Haley Caldwell, 23, of Richmond, also was taken to Reid Health, then later to Eskenazi Hospital in Indianapolis for treatment of internal injuries.
Madilynn Roberts, 4, was taken to Reid Health, then later to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis for treatment of possible internal injuries.
Wayne County Sheriff’s Department, Centerville Police Department and Richmond Police and Fire Departments assisted. Hanna, an ISP crash reconstruction investigator, was summoned to the scene, along with three other state troopers.