Thursday night at approximately 8:20, the Grayson County Sheriff’s Office, Clarkson Fire and Police Departments, and EMS were dispatched to the 113 mile marker of westbound Western Kentucky Parkway on the report of a semi-truck versus pickup truck accident.
Upon Deputies Fred Norder, Dylan Bohn and Mark Newman arriving on the scene, they found a westbound Core-Mark semi-truck, being driven by 51-year-old Shawn Gastrich, of Amelia, Ohio, had sideswiped a Chevrolet Silverado that was parked in the emergency lane.
The driver of the Chevy, 28-year-old Bradley Harrison, of Clarkson, and three passengers had pulled onto the westbound emergency lane after seeing a refrigerator on the side of the road. Harrison said he saw the semi-truck approaching, and decided to open the door to his truck after the semi passed.
Gastrich told police he wasn’t sure what happened as the semi-truck, with two empty trailers, veered off the roadway and sideswiped the Chevy, tearing the rear driver’s side tire off the truck and doing significant damage to one side of the Silverado.
The impact ripped off the front passenger side tire of the semi-truck as Gastrich lost control of the vehicle and traveled about 120 feet down an embankment before coming to a stop in a tree line, as the truck jack-knifed.
None of the four occupants of the Silverado were injured, and Gastrich suffered only a minor leg injury. He was transported by private means to Twin Lakes Regional Medical Center.
Deputies were on the scene until nearly 3:00 Friday morning providing traffic control as the semi-truck was removed from the tree line and towed from the scene.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com or 270-259-6000
