A chain reaction crash on Highway 60 outside Sellersburg, Indiana Thursday took the life of 19 year-old Bethany Burrier of Borden.

Four vehicles were stopped in the westbound lane on Ind 60 between Perry Crossing and Ebenezer Church roads because of construction. Roger Crum, 45, of Marysville, was driving a city of Jeffersonville sanitation truck that rear-ended the compact Ford passenger car Burrier was driving. The area was marked as a construction zone, but Crum told police that he did not see traffic stopped ahead of him and did not have time to apply his brakes, stated Maj. Chuck Adams of the Clark County Sheriff's Department.

The driver of another passenger car, Lorraine Carr, 49, of Pekin, was hospitalized with chest pain. Her son, Matthew Geel, 18, was transported to the hospital with minor abrasions.

Timothy Sheckles, 28, of Jeffersonville, the passenger in the Jeffersonville garbage truck, was Stat-Flown to the hospital with neck and arm injuries. He remains there in serious condition. The hospital had no update on the conditions of Carr or Geel.

The drivers of a flatbed truck and a Clarksville garbage truck, also stuck in traffic, suffered only minor injuries and were treated at the scene.

Crum - who was treated at the scene for minor injuries - has worked for the city as a driver since July. He holds a class A commercial driver's license issued by the state of Indiana. Sheckles has worked as a laborer for the city since May 2000.

Jeffersonville Human Resources Director Kim Calabro and Safety Director Dominick Mongarella are conducting a concurrent investigation along with the sheriff's department. Crum has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

The sanitation truck was impounded Friday and was being inspected by the Indiana Department of Transportation.

Vanessa Cantley, Indiana-licensed attorney and partner at Bahe Cook Cantley & Jones commented: "Growing up in Sellersburg, this wreck happened on a road I traveled every single day as a teenager. Now, as a mother of two, my heart goes out to Bethany's family and others who loved her. From all accounts, it sounds like Bethany was a remarkable young woman and will be terribly missed by many. It's a tragedy that Bethany was taken too soon, but even more so that it appears it was a result of someone else's negligence. As an attorney, I have represented the families of far too many young people who have lost their lives in fatal car wrecks at the hands of negligent drivers. Bethany's family deserves answers. If Crum was negligent in causing this wreck as police seem to be indicating, he will be liable under Indiana law for all damages he caused. The family will need to immediately engage the assistance of an experienced accident reconstructionist to determine how and why this wreck happened and preserve evidence. I never advise my clients to rely solely on the investigation of city or county officials - particularly when one of their own is involved."

For more information on the rights of victims of auto accidents in Indiana, feel free to contact Vanessa Cantley directly at (502) 587-2002, or e-mail her by clicking here.