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Indiana State Police-Jasper District 34-Jasper, IN
Monday February 29th, 2016 :: 08:06 p.m. EST

Community

Arkansas Woman in Critical Condition After Vehicle Crashes into Stopped Semi

Ferdinand: An Arkansas woman was listed in critical condition after the pick-up truck she was driving slammed into a stopped tractor-trailer.

At 4:10 P.M. this afternoon, Pamela J. Sorrells, 59, Randolph County, Arkansas, was traveling westbound on Interstate 64 near the 64 mile marker (one mile east of the Ferdinand exit) in her 2008 Chevrolet pick-up truck. While westbound, Sorrells lost consciousness due to a medical condition, and unknowingly merged from the passing lane, into the driving lane, and across the fog line. Sorrells’s truck struck a parked 2007 Freightliner semi truck pulling an empty 53 foot enclosed trailer, spun clockwise, and came to a stop next to the semi-tractor. The semi was stopped on the emergency shoulder due to breaking down.

Sorrells was 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. 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, while damage was only done to the trailer Goodson was pulling. Interstate 64 was closed for over an hour while emergency crews investigated the crash.

Investigating agency: Trooper Ross Johnson, Indiana State Police
Assisting agencies: Ferdinand Police, Dubois and Spencer County Sheriff’s Offices, Ferdinand First Responders, and Dubois County EMS.

-30-
HENSLEY

*Attached photographs are of both vehicles involved in the crash.

Address/Location
Indiana State Police-Jasper District 34-Jasper, IN
2209 Newton St
Jasper, IN 47546

Contact
Emergency: 9-1-1
Non-emergencies: 812-482-1441

Sergeant Philip Hensley
Public Information Office
[email protected]
812-631-1363

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