Drivers, passengers escape injury in five-car pileup on Ottawa's Main Street

A five-car accident made the trip home take a little longer for some Ottawa motorists Thursday afternoon.

At 4:38 p.m. in the 1500 block of South Main Street, Ottawa, a northbound jeep driven by Chelsea Taylor, 17, Princeton, struck a vehicle driven by Eric Smith, 25, Lawrence, which caused a chain reaction.

Smith’s vehicle struck a truck driven by Thomas Weigand, 67, Ottawa, which struck an SUV driven by Darnell Johnson, 40, Ottawa. Johnson’s vehicle then struck a vehicle driven by Carissa Swartz, 30, Neodesha.

“It was a total surprise,” Weigand said Friday morning.

“I was stopped at the stoplight, wasn’t looking in my rear view mirror, and wham! I was hit from behind and my truck whammed into Darnell, and he whammed into the car in front of him,” he said.

Friday morning Weigand said he hadn’t heard back from his insurance company, but it looked like he would need a new truck bed and quarter panel.

Taylor was cited for inattentive driving, according to police reports.

No injuries resulted from the accident, Lt. Adam Weingartner of the Ottawa Police Department, said.

Tickets for not wearing seat belts were not issued, which would indicate all of the drivers were wearing their seat belts, Weingartner said.

Motorists should be aware of how close they are following vehicles, he said.

“You want to make sure you leave a safe distance.”