Effingham Daily News, Effingham, IL

Local News

Crash details

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) Six people were killed and five were hospitalized in two crashes that happened within minutes at the same spot on Interstate 65 in central Kentucky Saturday.
Kentucky State Police Master Trooper Norm Chaffins said Gregg Lohman was involved in a four-vehicle wreck in the southbound lanes, about 15 minutes after a fiery crash involving a tractor-trailer and an SUV on the northbound side of the highway.
Six people from rural Wisconsin were killed when the tractor-trailer rear-ended their Ford Expedition at about 10:13 a.m. Saturday in the northbound lanes near Glendale, Ky.
Killed were 62-year-old driver James Gollnow and his wife, 62-year-old Barbara Gollnow; 92-year-old friend Marion Champnise; 18-year-old Sarina Gollnow, relationship unknown; and foster children 10-year-old Gabriel Zumig and 8-year-old Soledad Smith.
Two other foster children survived and were taken to area hospitals. Police identified them as Hope Hoth, 15, who was transported to a hospital in Lexington with burns and a broken spine; and Aidian Ejnik, 12, who was taken to Kosair Children's Hospital in Louisville with cuts to the back of his head.
Barb Gollnow of Shawano, Wis., the sister-in-law of those killed, called the collision "a horrible tragedy," but said details about her family's trip that led them through the Bluegrass State would have to come from the surviving children in the family. The children did not immediately return a message from The Associated Press left through Gollnow.
State Police said the family was returning to Wisconsin from a vacation to Orlando, Fla.
Chaffins said the tractor-trailer was following too closely to the SUV to stop before the collision. The Expedition was "totally engulfed in flames. It was totally destroyed by the fire," he said, adding, "It's just a charred mess." Distracted driving is among the causes being investigated.
"That's one of the points we're looking into," Chaffins said. "We haven't pinpointed the exact cause."
Chaffins said despite snow flurries, weather was not a factor in Saturday's crashes. The driver was identified as 47-year-old Ibrahim Fetic of Troy, Mich. Police were looking at his driving logs and collected a blood sample.
The National Transportation Safety Board has consulted with law enforcement and doesn't currently plan to open an investigation, spokesman Peter Knudson said.
The two crashes shut down the busy stretch of highway for about five hours.
Chaffins said police were investigating whether rubbernecking was the cause of the wrecks in the southbound lanes.
In that wreck, the Freightliner driven by 58-year-old Mark Bowser from Lewisburg, Ohio, struck Lohman's vehicle, then hit a 2005 Saturn SUV driven by 53-year-old Victor Martinka of Glenview, Ill.
Chaffins said Martinka's vehicle then struck a 2012 Chevrolet SUV driven by Stephanie Yates, 55, of Louisville. Chaffins said none of the other drivers were hospitalized.
The wreck on Saturday happened just north of where a tractor-trailer crossed the median and struck a van carrying 11 people in 2010. In the wake of that crash, the NTSB called for a ban on talking on cellphones or texting by long-distance truckers.

Related Photos

  • Gregg Lohman

    Gregg Lohman.jpg

  • Emergency personnel work at the scene of a multivehicle wreck on Interstate 65 near the 82 mile marker Saturday north of Sonora, Ky. Kentucky State Police say six people are dead in two crashes that happened near the same location in central Kentucky on Interstate 65. AP Photo/The News Enterprise, Neal Cardin

    Fatal Kentucky Crash_Will.tif

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March 5, 2013

Kellie Pickler drummer and Teutopolis native Gregg Lohman recovering from crash

Jackson Adams Effingham Daily News

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Gregg Lohman, Teutopolis native and drummer for country music star Kellie Pickler, is recovering from an accident in Kentucky over the weekend.

Lohman, who was the driver in one of two accidents that occurred on Interstate 65 in central Kentucky that have left five hospitalized and six dead, suffered serious injuries in the accident Saturday morning. Lohman suffered a collapsed lung, two broken ribs and a broken nose. He was airlifted from the scene to University of Louisville Hospital in Kentucky.

Bob Lohman said his brother, Gregg, has been recovering steadily since the accident.

"He was better Sunday than he was Saturday, and he's better today than he was yesterday," he said Monday.

The family has set up a webpage where people can check on Gregg's condition at www.caringbridge.org/visit/gregglohman.

Bob said the outpouring of support has been overwhelming.

"He comes from a huge family, but his Nashville family is just incredible," he said. "Kelly and musicians and people from the 'Nashville' TV show have all stopped by. It's just overwhelming. You can definitely tell the prayers are working. He's doing so well, and we credit it to prayer and great doctors and staff."

Lohman, 36, has been Picker's drummer since 2006 and is music instructor at Tennessee State University.

Bob said he has not been able to speak with Gregg, but his brother has been able to respond to people.

"We know he's in and out but, that's mostly because of the medicine he's on," he said., "When he's alert, he knows we're here. When he heard our voices, he perked up."

Bob said he hopes fans and well wishers remember the impact of the other victims of the crashes Saturday.

"It was really a tragedy, and Gregg was in the second accident, and I think he would agree that what he's going through is nothing compared to the others who are suffering. We haven't forgotten and don't want to dismiss what anyone else is going through."

Jackson Adams can be reached at 217-347-7151, ext. 131, or jackson.adams@effinghamdailynews.com.

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