UPDATE: DRIVER KILLED IN LAST NIGHT’S FATAL CRASH NEAR DALE,
INDIANA IDENTIFIED
FEBRUARY 27, 2015
SPENCER COUNTY (DALE), INDIANA
The driver killed last night in a two vehicle crash just
north of Dale has been identified.
According to the Spencer County Coroner’s Office, Melanie M.
Rothery, 41, Oregon City, Oregon, died at the scene of yesterday’s 7:18 P.M.
Crash.
State Police investigators report that Rothery had stopped her 1994
Subaru Legacy on the southbound shoulder of US 231, approximately one half mile
south of Interstate 64.
Rothery attempted to pull back onto US 231 to turn east on
County Road 2050 North, but failed to see a southbound 2006 Peterbilt
tractor-trailer as she was crossing the lanes.
Rothery pulled directly in front of the truck and was struck
in the driver’s door.
Rothery’s family has been notified.
Deceased:
Melanie M. Rothery, 41
416 4th Street, Oregon City, OR
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DALE, INDIANA
A female motorist who had pulled to the shoulder of U.S. 231
north of Dale was killed Thursday evening when she pulled back into traffic and
into the path of a semi tractor-trailer.
Authorities are still working to confirm the identity of the victim in the 7:18
p.m. CST accident, according to Spencer County Coroner Bob Fuller.
The driver killed in the accident had stopped a 1994 Subaru Legacy along the
southbound shoulder of U.S. 231 just north of Spencer County Road 2050N,
according to Indiana State Police.
The Subaru’s driver then attempted to pull back into traffic, cross the
southbound lanes of U.S. 231 and travel east on the county road.
At the same time, police said, David Wolfkiel, 66, of Owensboro was driving
southbound in a 2006 Peterbilt semi.
Wolfkiel attempted to change from the driving lane to the passing lane in an
unsuccessful attempt to avoid the crash, according to police. The Peterbilt
struck the Subaru at a right angle and pushed it into the median.
The car’s driver was pronounced dead at the scene.
Wolfkiel complained of leg pain and was treated at the scene. He was not
transported by ambulance.
A preliminary investigation indicates the victim was a white female, possibly
in her late 40s. Fuller said efforts are under way to confirm the identity of
the victim.
It is thought she was in the process of moving from Oklahoma to Radcliff, Ky.
to be with a sister. Authorities know the victim had been in Evansville a
couple of hours before the fatal crash because she purchased a money order
there, Fuller said.
The victim is thought to have exited I-64 onto U.S. 231, according to Fuller.
But, he added, going to Radcliff, Ky., would require further travel on I-64.
For that reason, the coroner said, it is thought the victim was attempting to
turn around to get back onto the interstate.
Authorities are awaiting additional information from the victim’s mother in
Oregon that would allow them to confirm the decedent’s identity. They are also
attempting to locate and speak with the victim’s sister in Kentucky.
The Spencer County Sheriff’s Department, Dale Police Department, Santa Claus
Police Department, Carter Township Fire District Volunteer Fire Department,
Spencer County Emergency Medical Services and the Spencer County Coroner’s
Office assisted.