KCSD Press Release – A Kimmel man is in critical condition following a severe crash today on the west edge of Warsaw.
Warsaw Police and emergency personnel responded today at 11:59 a.m. to a 9-1-1 report of a two vehicle crash involving a semi-tractor/trailer at the intersection of U.S. 30 and Silveus Crossing. Officers arrived and located the driver of a pickup truck, identified as Lester A. Hamel, 64, Kimmel, inside the wreckage and in critical condition. Hamel was removed and airlifted from the scene to Lutheran Hospital, Fort Wayne, with back and internal injuries. The driver of the semi-tractor/trailer, identified as Eryk Nowak, 33, River Grove, Illinois, sustained minor injuries and refused medical treatment at the scene.
Warsaw officers summoned crash investigators from the Kosciusko County F.A.C.T. Team who preliminarily determined that Hamel had originally been travelling eastbound on U.S. 30. According to witnesses, Hamel was located in the left turn lane, and attempted to cross the westbound lanes of U.S. 30 when he pulled directly into the path of the semi-tractor/trailer driven by Nowak. Both vehicles came to rest just west of the intersection, delaying traffic for several hours as officers reconstructed the scene.
Warsaw Police and the Kosciusko County F.A.C.T. stated that the crash is still under investigation, pending legal blood draw results as required by law. .
