A 39-year-old woman lost consciousness and had to be extricated from her car after it flipped onto its side following a two-vehicle crash on 25th Street in Columbus, Indiana, Friday afternoon. She was airlifted to an Indianapolis hospital, while the other driver, a 36-year-old man, was taken by ambulance after complaining of chest pain.
Columbus Police Department officers and other first responders were called to 25th Street between Taylor Road and Sandcrest Boulevard around 2:30 p.m. Friday for a personal-injury crash, according to The Republic. Police say the woman was driving a silver Chevrolet Trax eastbound on 25th Street and attempted to turn left into a parking lot when a gray Chevrolet Impala, traveling westbound, collided with the Trax as it turned, based on nearby video footage cited in the report. The Trax was found turned over on its side in nearby grass, and the Impala sustained heavy front-end damage.
The Trax driver lost consciousness at the scene and had to be extricated from the vehicle before being flown by helicopter to an Indianapolis hospital, per the same account. The Impala driver, who complained of chest pain, was transported to a hospital by ambulance. Police believe his injuries are non-life-threatening, while the extent of the woman's condition was not detailed in the report. Both vehicles were towed from the scene.
A Familiar and Dangerous Stretch of Road
Friday's collision happened along a corridor that Columbus city engineers have flagged as one of the community's most dangerous. In an August 2024 presentation reported by The Republic News, City Engineer Andrew Beckort noted that three of the city's top five crash intersections sit along 25th Street, including at Taylor Road. The same presentation featured an Indiana Department of Transportation official who said Bartholomew County and Columbus rank in the top three statewide for crash accident rates.
City crash data presented at that time also showed a shift in the nature of local collisions. While total motor vehicle crashes in Columbus fell from 1,082 in 2012 to 700 in 2023, occupant injuries actually rose over that same period, climbing from 312 to 376 — a trend city officials attributed in part to changing driver speeds and post-pandemic driving behavior, according to the report.
Second Serious 25th Street Crash in Under Two Weeks
Friday's incident marks the second major collision on the corridor in less than two weeks. A 77-year-old Edinburgh man was fatally injured on July 27 in a two-vehicle crash on 25th Street at Home Avenue and later died at an Indianapolis hospital after being airlifted there, according to WTHR. That crash involved a pickup truck and a UTV at a signalized intersection along the same road.
WTHR also reported that the Columbus Police Department maintains a specialized Accident Reconstruction Team that performs scene mapping, video collection and speed analysis for crashes resulting in critical injuries or fatalities. It remains unclear whether that team has been activated for Friday's crash. Open questions also remain about the Impala's speed at the time of impact, whether distracted driving played a role, and the Trax driver's updated medical condition.
Left-Turn Right-of-Way Rules at Issue
Because police say the Trax was turning left into a parking lot when the Impala struck it, Indiana Code Section 9-21-8-30 could factor into any fault determination. Under that statute, detailed by FindLaw, drivers turning left within an intersection or into a driveway or parking lot must yield the right-of-way to oncoming vehicles close enough to pose an immediate hazard.
The response to Friday's crash relied on the county's coordinated emergency medical system. Pre-hospital care across Bartholomew County is provided by Columbus Regional Health EMS, which operates five stations staffed by 48 paramedics and 32 emergency medical technicians, according to Columbus Regional Health. That EMS service operates under an interlocal agreement between the city and county authorizing it to handle all 911 ambulance calls, with personnel co-located at city fire stations including Station 1 and Station 5.
