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Family seeks commissioners' endorsement for road safety petition after fatal crash
Summary
Sherlyn Toles asked Vermillion County commissioners to endorse a petition and send a letter to NDOT seeking a second evaluation of State Road 63 after the Feb. 20 death of Chase Bennett, requesting rumble strips, guardrails and a recheck of roadway standards for the route touching Vermillion County.
Sherlyn Toles asked the Vermillion County Board of Commissioners on June 12 to endorse a petition and write to the Indiana Department of Transportation asking for a second evaluation of State Road 63 following the February 20 death of Chase Bennett.
Toles, speaking on behalf of Bennett's family and petition signers, told the board the roadway "is not up to standards through federal and Indiana standards," lacks adequate rumble strips and edge treatments, and sits between the park and Vermillion County in a way that exposes South Vermillion students and other nearby school programs to risk.
The Chair said the board would prepare and send a letter to NDOT seeking a reevaluation and noted prior coordination with neighboring counties; commissioners discussed guardrails and rumble/"bromel" strips as possible measures. The board's intention, as stated at the meeting, is to forward Toles's request and press the state for additional safety measures on the identified stretch of road.
Next steps: the county will draft a letter to NDOT reflecting the petitioner's concerns and request a renewed assessment of the roadway and potential guardrail and rumble-strip installations.
