KSP: Woman in fatality ran stop sign

Woman who died identified as state worker

By Ryan Quinn Published:

A woman was killed Tuesday morning after she ran a stop sign and a garbage truck collided with her vehicle at the intersection of Louisville and Waddy roads, just across the Franklin County line into Shelby County, according to Kentucky State Police.

Jeff Ivers, chief deputy coroner for Shelby County, identified the victim as Martha A. White, 44, of Wolf Coal in Breathitt County. White worked in operations and food service for the Kentucky Department of Parks for 11 years.

Ivers said it appeared the 2008 Chevrolet sedan, which was traveling northbound on Waddy Road, was crossing the intersection when it was hit by the garbage truck, which was moving westbound on Louisville Road.

Jamie Willard, of Waddy, the driver of the Republic Services garbage truck, stayed silent at the scene. He was not injured.

There were skid marks from the garbage truck on Louisville Road, and the truck had mangled the car into a ditch on the westbound side of the road. The passenger’s side of the car was crushed in.

White died immediately of blunt force trauma, Ivers said. She was wearing a seat belt. Ivers said he was not anticipating the involvement of drugs or alcohol, but was waiting for the results of routine toxicology reports.

Elaine Walker, commissioner of the Parks Department, said White was driving a state vehicle from Natural Bridge State Resort Park to General Butler State Resort Park to attend a supervisor training session.

White had been promoted on Oct. 1 to dining room supervisor at Natural Bridge after working as a front-desk clerk and hostess at Buckhorn Lake State Resort Park since 2001.

“We’re going to have a number of employees who are going to have a very difficult time dealing with her death,” Walker said. She said her department was working to help staff members cope, especially those at Buckhorn Lake who had grown close to White and her family.

Greta Burnette Gay, manager of Buckhorn Lake, said White was a wonderful and beloved employee.

“All my guests loved her and they all knew her by name,” Gay said.

She said White was well deserving of her promotion.

Shelby County EMS and firefighters responded to the accident around 9 a.m., said Toby Marlin, assistant fire chief of East U.S. 60 Fire Department in Shelby County. About 10 emergency vehicles – including several from Kentucky State Police and Shelby County Sheriff’s Office – arrived on scene.

KSP is investigating the wreck.

The intersection was closed around 9:30 a.m., and the body was not removed from the vehicle until 10:30 a.m., when it was loaded onto a stretcher and covered in a white sheet while it was moved to an ambulance.

Comments

Signed in as

By Posting to this site, you agree to our Terms of Service. Be polite. Inappropriate posts may be removed. The State Journal doesn't necessarily condone the comments here, nor does it review every post.

Want to leave your comments?

Sign in or Register to comment.

  • I drove over there yesterday and SF is right about the warnings. It seems like my recollections were somewhat dated. There have been numerous safety measures installed. As I approached the intersection, and still some 1/4 mile away, there were two large signs with "stop ahead" on them, then three sets of rumple strips and finally two large stop signs on both sides of the road. The stop sign on the right side of the road (normal position) is obscured by the garage and is not visible until you are almost in the intersection, but the one on the left side of the road is, and can be seen from a ways back. ............................................There were no skid marks made by her car, although, with non-skid anti-lock brakes, that does not mean that she did not try to stop. With all of the warnings, most attentive drivers would have been able to detect the intersection. She obviously was quite distracted...texting maybe?

  • Steve_Fry

    Thank you, ukfan. 176, as mentioned, I meant no disrespect.

  • I believe he just made an observation. I don't think he meant any disrespect. This is very sad. We don't need to start picking at each other over it.

  • A lady lost her life, and Steve Fry, SJ employee, cannot refrain from sarcasm??????

  • Thanks for the additional info Steve. I rarely go 60 that far into Shelby Co and didn't realize there was a light there.

  • Steve_Fry

    I'm very familiar with that intersection, too. Seems there are rumble strips, a giant stop sign and a flashing red light. Guess that wasn't enough. :o\

  • Thank you 1713, you have given a seemingly accurate description of that stretch of road. Very sad situation. Too bad there is not a flashing caution light there.

  • This was at the Waddy Peytona Garage intersection, which connects to the south with I64. My guess is that Ms. White was unfamiliar with the road and didn't see the stop sign for some reason. She was probably in the middle of US 60 when she learned of her fatal mistake. I am very familiar with this intersection and traveling North you are on a slight uphill and can see the Waddy Road on the other side of US60 because it continues up a slight rise. The US 60 pavement is not immediately apparent until you break over the rise. The stop sign is the only clue that there is an intersection until you are almost upon it. Sometimes there are big trucks parked along side of the road there at the garage, which may have obscured the stop sign or provided a distraction. She may have been traveling too fast also, but nobody will ever know. It is hard to imagine that she came to a complete stop and then pulled out in front of a big highly visible truck. This is very sad, and I feel sympathy for her and her family, as well as the garbage truck driver.

  • Steve_Fry

    Sad. Is this at Graefenburg, or further out at 395?

  • So sad. Prayers go out to all involved.