TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV)—UPDATE: The crash on Tuesday at 7th Street and Putnam actually occurred with a parked vehicle. According to the crash report from the Terre Haute Police Department, Officers responded to the rolled vehicle at 1:46 p.m. and the officers on scene not only noticed the rolled car but a Ford Mustang pulled up on the sidewalk with a crowd of people around it arguing. The officer immediately responded to the driver of the rolled vehicle.
The officer talked to the driver, who was still conscious and alert, noticing she was trapped in the vehicle still seatbelted in and lying on broken glass. The driver, identified as Cheyenne Sieple, also claimed she could not feel her legs. It was at this time Terre Haute Fire Department arrived on the scene to begin work on freeing Sieple.
The report goes on to say that the officer then went to the group arguing near the Mustang. The group, except for one woman who was trying to keep the peace, stated to the officer that a man nearby in an orange shirt was instigating a disturbance and that he was a danger. The man, identified as Jakob Smith, when asked by officers if he was the other driver, police noted he became obnoxious and angry stating that he wasn’t driving and that the woman hit his parked car. The officer collected the license and registration from Smith and told him to head inside his apartment near the scene and not to return due to his continued behavior. The officer advised him to stop being a disturbance or he’d be taken to jail.
While the officer conducted interviews with the crowd Smith continued to yell and flip off witnesses being interviewed. During the interviews, officers were told Smith had not only been yelling and causing a scene outside but had also been antagonizing Sieple while trapped in the vehicle.
It was after this officers went to Smith in his home and informed him that if he didn’t cease interfering with the investigation that he’d be taken to jail. Smith had been on the phone during this time and officers were informed he was on call with 911, claiming he was told no information about his damaged vehicle. Officers noted that he had been on scene at the time of the accident, however, he had not asked any questions of the officers.
Officers then arrested Smith for misuse of the 911 system and had to press him against the doorway after he attempted to pull away from officers. According to police, he continued to hurl insults on his way to the patrol car, all while THFD was using glass saws and the jaws of life to remove Sieple from the vehicle.
Sieple was taken to the hospital and when asked had no recollection of the cause of the wreck, though one witness claimed to see her slightly veering to the right before the collision. Smith was booked into Vigo County Jail and released less than an hour later.
A car ended up on its side after being involved in a two-vehicle accident in Terre Haute
The accident occurred shortly before 2 p.m. Tuesday near the intersection of 7th Street and Putnam Street. According to a reporter at the scene, one person was seen taken into a police car in handcuffs. One person was taken away by ambulance.
The road from Hulman Street to Washington Avenue was closed during the extraction of the individual. This is currently under investigation and we will update you when new information comes in.