Republic file photo Accident scene at East County Road 100S and South County Road 525E on July 2 in which one person was killed.
An online petition requesting that a rural intersection bordering Clay and Sand Creek townships be made a four-way stop has gathered nearly 400 signatures in just three days.
The intersection of East County Road 100S and South County Road 525E is where Tonya Whiteside, 51, of Greensburg was killed during a collision on July 2. Two others involved in the collision sustained serious injuries, and were flown by by Lifeline Helicopter to an Indianapolis hospital.
Another crash at the same intersection took the life of passenger Katelyn Tullis, 20, of Madison on May 31, 2023. The driver, Ayden Pittman of North Vernon, sustained serious injuries and was flown by medical helicopter to Indianapolis.
Whiteside and Tullis were both in vehicles traveling along Road 525E that unintentionally ran a stop sign. They collided with vehicles on Road 100S that does not stop at the junction.
However, those who sign the online petition created July 28 by Donnie Day are advocating for the Bartholomew County commissioners to put up a 4-way stop sign, so that all traffic at the intersection will be required to stop.
“We are not demanding lavish changes, but life-saving modifications to our roadway: a four-way stop and an advanced warning signal,” Day wrote.
The mother of Katelyn Tullis says her family, as well as Tonya Whiteside’s loved ones, have lost big pieces of their lives at the rural intersection.
“A four-way stop is not too much to ask in light of what it took from us,” Tonya Tullis wrote. “Help us get a reasonable change for a very dangerous intersection. Change so no other families have to bury their loved ones.
Heather Pittman, the mother of Ayden Pittman, said Katelyn Tullis was her son’s girlfriend.
“We frequently return to place flowers at the memorial and every time we do, we’re reminded of how perilous this intersection is,” Heather Pittman wrote on the petition. “Making this change could potentially prevent other families from experiencing the same heartache.”
Another supporter of the petition, Mark Wilson of East Otter Creek Lane, has already expressed his concerns in writing to the commissioners’ office, according to county administrator Tina Douglas. He plans to speak to the commissioners at an upcoming meeting.
Commissioners’ chairman Larry Kleinhenz says he has asked Bartholomew County Highway engineer Danny Hollander to analyze the intersection from an engineering perspective and make a recommendation.
“We recognize this has been a high accident area for the past several years,” Kleinhenz said.
On the basis of traffic counts, County Road 100S is considered the main road because it carries substantially more traffic than Road 525E, Hollander said. Typically, a main road is given the right-of-way, he added.
Another commissioner, Carl Lienhoop, says he drove along Road 100S through the intersection for about 40 years, but found an alternative route after deciding the road had become too dangerous.
“Traffic travels fast on that road, I won’t deny that,” Lienhoop said. “But we have other roads in the county that are just as dangerous.
As examples, Lienhoop cited County Road 200S through the Burnsville curves, both sides of Road 800N at the intersection of State Road 9 and Road 550 North where it intersects with Marr Road.
“I don’t think people would like it if we started putting 4-way stops at every intersection,” the commissioner said.
Lienhoop expressed an opinion identical to what has been stated many times by local law enforcement that the greatest danger on the roads and highways is driver inattention.
The online petition can be found on the change.org website. Use the search tool at the top of the page and type: Implement a Four-Way Stop at Intersection 100S and 525E in Bartholomew County, Indiana.
The online petition can be found on the change.org website.
Use the search tool at the top of the page and type: Implement a Four-Way Stop at Intersection 100S and 525E in Bartholomew County, Indiana.
