Arkansas woman critically injured when her truck collides with parked semi-tractor
An Arkansas woman was listed in critical condition after the pickup truck she was driving slammed into a stopped tractor-trailer on Interstate 64 near the Ferdinand exit.
According to Indiana State Police, Pamela J. Sorrells, 59, of Randolph County, Ark., was westbound on Interstate 64 near the 64-mile marker (one mile east of the Ferdinand exit) in her 2008 Chevrolet pick-up truck at about 4:10 p.m.
Sorrells lost consciousness due to a medical condition and her truck drifted from the passing lane into the driving lane and across the fog line into a parked 2007 Freightliner semi-truck pulling an empty 53 foot enclosed trailer. Her truck spun clockwise and came to a stop next to the semi-tractor.
Police said the semi was stopped on the emergency shoulder due to breaking down.
Sorrells had to be extricated from the Chevrolet and was airlifted to St. Mary’s Hospital in Evansville.
Sorrells’s use of her seatbelt helped to save her life during the crash, according to police.
The driver of the semi, Kenneth Goodson, 59, Owensboro, Kentucky, was not in the truck at the time of the crash; he was walking towards the Ferdinand exit to call for mechanical assistance for his truck.
Sorrells’s truck was a total loss and the trailer was damaged.
Interstate 64 was closed for over an hour while emergency crews investigated the crash.
Ferdinand Police, Dubois and Spencer County Sheriff’s Offices, Ferdinand First Responders, and Dubois County Emergency Medical Services assisted at the scene.
Nothing about this accident other than the true nature of it being a legitimate accident (initially not caused by driver actions or inactions) except for the licensing issue as it relates to medical conditions. A good informational and public service story would be to expand on what kinds of medical conditions or medications completely prohibit obtaining a driver’s license in Indiana. What kinds of information must doctors report – to what agencies and how soon after discovery or diagnosis – and what is the process and appeals for having a license restricted or suspended because of a medical condition? We are considerably more afflicted and medicated today than in generations past, plus so many more vehicles on the road, and issues such as this can’t help but be more prevalent in today’s society.