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olumbus police arrested a driver after he crashed into a sheriff’s department patrol car and nearly hit a state trooper in a 45-minute chase early Saturday morning.

Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the police department, said an officer responded to a report of a possibly drunk driver near National Road and Washington Street. The officer gave chase to a vehicle that was weaving across lanes. The driver allegedly raced away, tried to drive into oncoming traffic and drove through tire-deflation devices placed by state police. A near-miss with a trooper’s car was followed by a crash into a Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department vehicle which forced the patrol car to then hit a tree. The deputy was uninjured, Harris said.

The driver stopped in the 1900 block of Wallace Avenue and ran away. 25-year-old Stephen D. Fields was arrested a short time later on preliminary charges including:

• Resisting Law Enforcement (Vehicle)
• Leaving the Scene of an Accident
• Resisting Law Enforcement (on Foot)
• Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated
• Criminal Recklessness
• Possession of Methamphetamine
• Illegal Possession of a Syringe
• Aggressive Driving
• Reckless Driving

A Columbus teen was arrested early Sunday morning after a crash seriously injured a 16-year-old.

Bartholomew County deputies were called to the accident at about 2:30 a.m. yesterday in the 11000 block of West Georgetown Road, where they found an upside down vehicle and the injured 16-year-old lying on the ground, says Judy Jackson, spokeswoman for the sheriff’s department. The driver, 19-year-old Brandon Dunbar of Georgetown Road saidt he vehicle ran off the road and then rolled down a hill. Dunbar allegedly told deputies that he had a couple of drinks and had smoked marijuana earlier in the evening.

The victim was flown by helicopter to IU Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. Another passenger, a 14-year-old, was uninjured.

Dunbar was arrested on preliminary charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury.

A Columbus woman and a Greensburg boy were killed in a three-vehicle crash Friday night in Decatur County.

The Indiana State Police report that at about 10:15 p.m., a Jeep, driven by 25-year-old Matthew Hahn of Greensburg, struck the tires of a trailer being towed by an SUV going the opposite direction on County Road 300N. The Jeep then skidded into the path of a truck driven by 47-year-old Terry Robinson of Columbus.

5-year-old Matthew Hahn Jr., a passenger in his father’s Jeep, was flown to Riley Hospital for Children but died. 35-year-old Shelina M. Robinson of Columbus, a passenger in the pickup truck died at the scene.

Four other people including Matthew Hahn were injured in his vehicle, as well as Terry Robinson. Those injured included:

• Matthew L. Hahn, transported to Methodist Hospital.
• James Supler, 16, from Greensburg, injured, and transported to  Decatur County Hospital.
• Logan Debiase, 9, from Greensburg,  injured and transported to Riley Hospital.
• Mataya Hahn, 3, from Greensburg, injured and transported to Riley Hospital.
• Terry W. Robinson, transported to the Decatur County Hospital.

Three medical helicopters were called to the scene.

The third vehicles, the SUV pulling a car trailer, was driven by 50-year-old Kenneth L. Bogue of New Castle and he was uninjured.

Duke Energy is reporting about 2,300 customers in the area of Parkside Elementary, north Washington Street and the National Road and Central Avenue intersection are without power this morning.

Chip Orben, with Duke, says it appears a raccoon got into a substation, causing the outage. The company is reporting that power should be restored by 8 a.m.

The Robert N. Stewart Bridge, which spans the East Fork of the White River and brings people in to Columbus, will take on a blue hue over the next.

The bridge, named after the late Columbus Mayor, has LED lights installed throughout the structure that allows city officials to light the bridge however they please during overnight hours. Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the Columbus Police Department, says that that the lighting is meant to support law-enforcement, as well as honor the police killed and injured in recent attacks.

Harris says that the lighting display begins tonight and will last for one week.

A prank call ended with the fire suppression system being activated at a local restaurant.

Capt. Mike Wilson, Columbus Fire Department spokesman, says that at about 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, firefighters learned that a fire suppression hood system had discharged at the Waffle House Restaurant on West Jonathon Moore Pike. Fire investigators say that the system was manually activated by an employee. According to investigators, an employee answered a phone call from someone claiming to be a member of a fire department. Wilson says that the caller advised the employee that the fire department needed to reset the fire suppression system within the restaurant. The caller went on to explain, in detail, what the employee needed to do to assist the fire department. The caller told the employee to pull the discharge handle of the system, which would allow the system to reset. When the pull station was tripped, the fire suppression system discharged, sending a dry powder extinguishing agent throughout the cooking area.

Investigators said that the restaurant was closed for an unknown amount of time, and that the board of health responded to the scene. The restaurant was required to recharge the fire suppression system before re-opening to the public. No injuries were reported.

Columbus Fire Department Inspector Matt Noblitt warns that this type of call should raise red flags for business and residents. Noblitt said, “a member of the fire department is always present when testing or inspecting a fire protection system. We don’t ask anyone to test a fire protection system through a telephone call.” Noblitt adds that most businesses have designated representatives that work closely with the department’s fire prevention bureau.

If you receive such a phone call, the Columbus Fire Department urges you to call them at (812) 376-2679.

The Bartholomew County Historical Society will be showing off its 1918 Reeves Steam Engine this weekend.

The society’s annual Reeves Festival Breakfast is from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Henry Breeding Farm.

The festival will include breakfast, ice cream, games, rides on the Reeves Steam Tractor and more. Tickets are $12 for adults, and $5 for children. Tickets for Society members are $10.

You can get more information at bartholomewhistory.org.

Columbus city officials are considering ways to improve transportation at the Walesboro-area industrial parks on the south side of Columbus.

Mayor Jim Lienhoop says the city is considering new stoplights along State Road 58 at the interchanges with I-65, on International Drive and on Old Lane Drive.

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And the city is looking into a new bus route that would serve the factories in the industrial parks, That will be part of upcoming budget planning.

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In addition to efforts to give money to Bartholomew Consolidated schools to help educate the workforce, the mayor said the goal is to help industry in the area retain and recruit workers:

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Two Columbus residents were seriously injured in a crash yesterday near Brownstown.

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department reports that 52-year-old Rick Walker of Columbus was driving east on U.S. 50 at about 4:40 p.m. when he came upon traffic slowed due to construction and hit the rear of a pickup truck. Walker was trapped inside his truck and received head and leg injuries. A passenger, 63-year-old Chester Sidwell of Columbus, received head and chest injuries.

Walker was flown to IU Methodist Hospital and Sidwell was first taken to Schneck Medical Center in Seymour before being flown to University of Louisville Hospital.

The crash caused a chain reaction involving three other vehicles. A passenger in the first vehicle struck, 26-year-old Sarah Cravens of Brownstown, had neck pain and was taken to Schneck Medical Center.