A Trenton woman died and three other area residents were injured as the result of a three-vehicle accident four miles east of Jamesport Thursday morning, February 4th.
An ambulance transported pickup truck passenger 56-year-old, Valerie Johnson, to Cameron Regional Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead approximately two hours after the crash.
The pickup driver, 70-year-old Kenneth Talley of Trenton, received serious injuries. The driver of the sports utility vehicle, 34-year-old Devin Burkhiser, and passenger 31-year-old Amber Burkhiser, both of Unionville, sustained minor injuries. All were transported by ambulance to Wright Memorial Hospital. The driver of the minivan, 34-year-old Barbara Wagler of Trenton, was not injured.
The pickup traveled east on Highway 6, and the other vehicles traveled west before the pickup began sliding and side-swiped the minivan. The pickup then crossed the center line and entered the westbound lane. The SUV attempted to avoid the truck, but the SUV was struck head-on by the front passenger side of the truck. The pickup came to rest on its wheels on the westbound shoulder, the van came to a controlled stop on the westbound shoulder, and the SUV came to rest its wheels blocking the westbound lane of Highway 6.
The Patrol notes Talley and Johnson did not wear seat belts, but the others involved did.
The Grundy County Sheriff’s Office, Daviess County Sheriff’s Office, Jamesport First Responders, and Jamesport Ambulance District assisted at the scene of the crash.
This is the first fatality accident in Grundy County in 2021investigated by the Patrol.
