Spate of multiple-vehicle collisions leaves only one resident injured

Multiple auto accidents in Ottawa since Thursday injured only one person — a woman who wasn’t in a car.

Marie Moore, 79, was in a crosswalk, when she was struck by a vehicle driven by Keith Gifford, 26, Ottawa, at 12:51 p.m. at Wal-Mart Supercenter, 2101 S. Princeton St., Ottawa.

Moore was transported by Franklin County Emergency Services to Ransom Memorial Hospital in Ottawa, where she was treated and released according to the hospital.

Later Thursday, a five-car pile-up slowed down the afternoon commute.

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.

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.

Thursday evening a two-car accident near City Park at Fifth and Main streets left both drivers uninjured.

At 6:21 p.m. a blue Mitsubishi Mirage traveling east on Fifth Street and driven by Caitlyn Fisher, 18, Ottawa, struck a green Hyundai Elantra heading north on Cedar Street driven by Diana Jabe, 16, Ottawa.

Fisher was cited for failure to stop at a stop sign.

Both drivers were wearing seat belts, Weingartner said.

About 2:45 p.m. Friday, four vehicles were involved in a chain-reaction wreck near the intersection of 15th and Cedar streets, Ottawa.

Tim Cronin, Ottawa Police Department officer at the scene, said traffic was backed up at the intersection because of a funeral procession.

No one was injured in the wreck, Cronin said.

Weingartner cautioned motorists to be aware of how close they are following other vehicles.

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