Several hurt in chain-reaction crash on smokey road

CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. (WISH) - With smoke from a grass fire obscuring the roadway, a chain reaction crash Wednesday afternoon in Montgomery County sent several people to area hospitals with varying injuries.

Sgt. Kim Riley of Indiana State Police 24-Hour News 8 news partner The Paper of Montgomery County that a passenger in one of the cars involved was flown by medical helicopter to St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis.

Riley said a semi had stopped on U.S. 231, north of North Montgomery High School, because of the smoke, and two cars and a panel truck were stopped behind it. A grain truck came through the smoke and couldn't avoid striking the panel truck, causing a train reaction involving the two cars and the semi, leaving a black Mercedes with heavy damage.

The passenger in that car, Inam Khan, Glen Island, Ill., was the person flown to St. Vincent. He was in critical but stable condition Wednesday evening, ISP said.

Others injured were taken to St. Elizabeth in Crawfordsville, where they were treated and released.

Among them were the driver of the black Mercedes, Sohail Shakier, 55, Northbrook, Ill.; Lacy Lasata, 27, Chesterton, who was driving the other car involved in the crash; and Lee Lewis, 33, West Lafayette, who was driving the panel truck.

Neither of the semi drivers was injured. The semi at the front of the chain of vehicles sustained only minor damage, while the semi that struck the other vehicles from behind was heavily damaged, ISP said.

Riley said no citations had been issued, but the investigation was ongoing.