By Jerry Curry, Staff Writer
On Friday, Aug. 9, at approximately 7:54 a.m., deputies along with emergency services personnel responded to a three vehicle crash on Eastern School Road, in front of the East Washington School Corporation.
Investigators at the scene determined that Garrett Drury, age 17 of Borden, was traveling north on Eastern School Road in a 1996 Ford F-150, when he drove into the back of a stopped vehicle. Drury’s vehicle collided with a 2016 Ford Escape, which was being operated by Rosemary Russell, age 80, of Pekin. Russell’s vehicle was pushed into the back of a 2004 Ford Explorer, which was also stopped on Eastern School Road and being operated by Sheri Coy, age 37, of Clarksville.
Drury stated he was traveling northbound on Eastern School Road when a passenger in his vehicle told him to look at something on the edge of the roadway. Drury said he quickly looked away and when he looked back at the roadway the vehicle in front of him had abruptly stopped and he was not able to slow down fast enough to avoid a collision with the Russell vehicle.
Russell was the only person injured in the accident. She was transported to Baptist Floyd Hospital by the Washington County Ambulance Service for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.
The crash is being investigated by Deputy Paul Reyling, who was assisted by New Pekin Town Marshal Jeff Thomas and the East Washington School Resource Officers Gary Pennington and Dan Knable.