A Horrible Accident-Lets be careful out there!	EMS House of DeFrance
Photo by Barbara Allison	SOUTH BEND, IN -- A semi-truck slammed into a state police car and sport-utility vehicle pulled over for a routine traffic stop Thursday afternoon along the Indiana Toll Road, killing a rookie Indiana state trooper, an 11-year-old Granger boy and the boy's grandfather, and leaving three others injured. Here's what was left of the car. (update below) return to the EMS House

Warrant issued for trucker ©South Bend Tribune -- March 16, 1999 SOUTH BEND --

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Cornelius Spencer, the driver of the semi-truck that slammed into an Indiana State Police squad car and sport-utility vehicle 12 days ago on the Indiana Toll Road, killing three people. . .

Spencer, 50, was driving a truck west on the Toll Road on March 4. The state police car had pulled over a sport-utility vehicle in a routine traffic stop about four miles west of South Bend. The crash killed rookie state Trooper Richard T. Gaston, 29, 11-year-old Charlie Fewell of Granger and the boy's grandfather, Duane Douglas Fites, 65, of Auburn, Ind. Four people were injured, including Spencer.

According to court documents, hospital tests after the accident showed Spencer tested positive for cocaine metabolites. . . .

A search of the truck's cab resulted in police recovering several items, including a hollow metal tube with burn residue and a burned ball of steel wool. Police have said those items are "typical of a crack pipe.'' Investigators also recovered a white plastic tube with a red cap containing white residue and brown prescription bottle containing a white residue. Also found were a vitamin bottle containing pink tablets, a high point .380-caliber handgun with eight bullets and a laser sight, and two cigarette butts. Police also were reviewing the truck's on-board computer, which investigators hoped would give further information about the crash.

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