Two children suffered serious injuries after being thrown from a vehicle during a crash on Interstate 65 in southern Jackson County Sunday afternoon.

According to Indiana State Police reports, troopers were called to the scene of the crash near Crothersville at about 5 Sunday afternoon. A driver, 32-year-old Kayla C. Irish of Lakeland, Florida was driving northbound in a van when she lost control and struck a guardrail, flipping the vehicle over. It then rolled over before crashing into a concrete barrier and coming to a stop.

A 9-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy were thrown from the vehicle. Irish and the girl were flown by medical helicopter to Louisville area hospitals. The boy along with a 12-year-old boy were were taken by ambulance to Norton’s Children’s Hospital in Louisville.

Four other occupants of the vehicle declined treatment.

Troopers were assisted at the scene by the Crothersville Police Department, Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, Scott County Sheriff’s Department, Jackson County and Scott County medics, Vernon Township Fire Department and Howard’s Wrecker Service.

Photo courtesy of Indiana State Police.

Columbus Regional Health is opening additional intensive care unit space in the hospital as capacity is maxed out under the current COVID-19 surge.

Kelsey DeClue, spokeswoman for the hospital, said last week that when the need was triggered, the hospital planned to open the new ICU unit in a portion of the cardiac catherization lab.

DeClue explains the process to create new ICU space in the hospital includes not just the physical bed and life support equipment but also information services, medicine, medical supplies and other services.

The additional unit is meant to handle any overflow of critically ill patients, DeClue said. For several weeks, the existing ICU space at CRH has been running at capacity.

Currently the hospital’s ability to transfer patients in and out of CRH and to other facilities is severely limited.

This comes on the heels of the announcement that the hospital would be stopping elective surgical procedures in the Surgical Services, Endoscopy Center and Outpatient Cath Lab as of yesterday.

The hospital is asking the community to take precautions to limit the spread of COVID-19 including getting vaccinated and wearing masks.

Columbus Police are investigating a fatal crash on Interstate 65 that happened Sunday night between Columbus and Walesboro.

According to police reports, officers were called to the crash at the 64.5 mile marker at about 8:15 Sunday evening after an SUV headed north in the construction zone first hit some construction barrels, then struck a concrete barrier wall, flipping the vehicle on the roof.

The driver was ejected from the vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene by the Bartholomew County Coroner’s office. The driver’s name has not yet been released, until the family is notified.

The incident remains under investigation by crash reconstructionists.

Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, Indiana State Police, Columbus Regional Hospital medics and the Columbus Fire Department assisted at the scene.

An Edinburgh man is dead after a Saturday afternoon crash on Interstate 65.

65-year-old Richard Campbell was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash at about 1:50 p.m. Saturday afternoon about a mile and a half north of the Columbus exit, according to Bartholomew County deputies.

According to police reports, reckless driving is believed to have been a factor in the crash based on witness reports of the victim’s driving behavior.

The investigation is ongoing.

Bartholomew County deputies were assisted at the scene by Columbus Regional Hospital medics, Columbus Township Fire and Rescue Department, Columbus police and Indiana State Police.

Aisin Drivetrain is planning to invest $55 million in Jackson County and create up to 141 new jobs over the next few years.

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation announced the expansion on Friday, saying Aisin is accelerating the electrification of vehicles to enhance fuel efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.

The company will be expanding with renovations and new equipment at its more than 353,000 square foot plant in Crothersville which has 422 employees. The company will be working on the Toyota Large Capacity Hybrid electric rear axle assembly and electric water pump.

The company is a subsidiary of Japan-based Aisin Corporation, which operates a number of other companies in Indiana, including Aisin USA Manufacturing in Seymour, Aisin Chemical Indiana in Crothersville, Aisin Logistics in Franklin and other facilities in Tell City, Terre Haute, and Rushville.

Since 2008, Aisin has invested nearly $96 million into its Indiana operations.

Several area communities will be receiving federal grants to improve water infrastructure.

Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch announced $12.8 million in Community Development Block grants last week.

Edinburgh, Elizabethtown and Trafalgar are each receiving $700,000 grants through the Wastewater and Drinking Water program.

Edinburgh plans to construct a new dual-media water treatment plant. As well as new equipment at all four well sites, and the construction of a new water well.

Elizabethtown will make improvements to its collection system, equalization tanks and wastewater treatment plant.

Trafalgar will rehabilitate and expand its wastewater treatment plant, make lift station improvements, rehabilitate manholes and replace a force main.

A body found Thursday in a shallow grave has been identified as a missing Columbus woman and her boyfriend is being charged with murder.

The body, found just off of County Road 400N, has been identified as 37-year-old Heather A. Steuver, who had been missing since Aug. 22nd. She died of blunt force trauma to the head, according to Bartholomew County Coroner Clayton Nolting.

A missing person’s report was filed on Aug. 26th and assigned to Sheriff’s Department Detective Kevin Abner, who believed the circumstances were suspicious.

During the investigation, her boyfriend 38-year-old Patrick E. Doyle, of Columbus, was arrested and taken to the jail on a preliminary charge of possession of child pornography. He has since been additionally preliminarily charged with murder.

Chief Deputy Maj. Chris Lane praised the work of Detective Abner, saying the detective put in long hours and worked diligently to obtain the result.

Photo of Heather Ann Steuver courtesy of Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department.

Columbus Regional Health is suspending all elective surgeries in several departments due to the surge in COVID-19 cases.

The hospital announced Friday afternoon that it is suspending those procedures in the Surgical Services, Endoscopy Center and Outpatient Cath Lab as of Monday. That is for all elective, non-urgent surgeries and procedures.

The suspension of non-urgent and non-emergent surgical procedures is geared toward the preservation of healthcare resources, which are at critical capacity.

Patients with scheduled surgeries and/or procedures will be contacted by their physician’s offices about the changes. If you have questions, you are encouraged follow up with their physician or surgeon office directly.

CRH is prioritizing procedures and interventions that are emergent and cannot safely be delayed for the patient. A team of physicians will be determining on a case-by-case basis which procedures meet the criteria.

The third of the smaller scale Ethnic Expo events will be in downtown Columbus tomorrow with the Ganesh Festival of India on Fourth Street from 3 to 8 p.m.

The event, sponsored by the Columbus Ganesh Mandal, the city of Columbus and the Columbus Area Visitors Center will include food vendors, bazaar booths and free henna tattoos. There will be live music from 3:30 to 4:30, a dance workshop from 5 to 5:30, a celebration of India from 5:30 to 7:30 and a Dhol Tasha Performance from 7:30 to 8 p.m.

The annual downtown festival was split into four events this year to reduce crowd size and allow for social distancing due to COVID-19.

You can get more information at ethnic expo dot org.