STONY CREEK TOWNSHIP — A church caught fire near Anderson on Wednesday after a two-vehicle collision sent a car crashing into the building.
Madison County Sheriff Ron Richardson said the two vehicles collided at the intersection of County Road 400 South and Layton Road where Anderson and Stony Creek townships meet. The accident happened around 7:30 a.m.
Richardson said a 2000 Mercedes driven by Gregory K. Scott, 60, Anderson, was southbound on Layton Road when it collided with a black Mitsubishi Eclipse headed west on 200 South with Joshua R. Smith, 23, Anderson, behind the wheel. Terrence R. Hutchison III, 20, Anderson, was a passenger in Smith’s car and all three men were taken to St. John’s Hospital in Anderson.
“At this time, we don’t believe any injuries were serious,” Richardson said.
The Mercedes then struck a wall on the north side of Bethel United Methodist Church, which is on the southwest corner of the intersection.
Ritch Blake, 44, of Anderson, witnessed the accident. He said Scott’s Mercedes appeared to run a stop sign, causing Smith’s Mitsubishi to T-bone him in the intersection. (East-west traffic along Layton Road must stop at the two-way stop intersection, but north-south traffic along 200 South does not.)
“He hit him on the left side, the car went into the yard and hit the building,” said Blake. “The car stopped with the throttle wide open.”
Blake and another man, Bill Pape, 62, of Anderson, both stopped to assist. Pape is EMS Captain for Lapel-Stony Creek Ambulance and notified Madison County dispatch of the situation via radio within a matter of seconds.
“We weren’t able to do much because of the involvement,” Pape said. “We were able to get to the passenger side, which was unlocked, thank God.”
The passenger side of Scott’s Mercedes was pinned up against the stone wall of the church. Blake said, it wasn’t long before flame was visible near the car’s right-front tire.
“We saw that the driver was pinned between the console and the door,” Blake said. “We lifted his legs and we were able to drag him out.”
Pape said Scott was in a “semi-conscious” state, but soon began talking. Richardson said he reported back pain to ambulance staff.
The walls of Bethel United Methodist Church are mostly stone, but Blake said flames creeped up into a window frame and quickly spread into the church. It wasn’t long before the fire had spread throughout the east wing of the church, although it appears the sanctuary to the west was relatively unscathed.
Contact Justin Schneider: (765) 640-4809, justin.schneider@heraldbulletin.com
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