One driver arrested after two-vehicle crash in Linton Tuesday night

One driver accused of failing to yield the right of way to an oncoming vehicle resulting in a crash on State Road 54 in Linton on Tuesday night was arrested for leaving the scene and then telling a story a detective said was not true.

ELIJAH JADE HELDMAN

Elijah Jade Heldman, 21, Crane, was arrested by Detective Logan Hobbs of the Linton Police Department on Tuesday, April 11.

Detective Hobbs was dispatched at 5:57 PM to the scene of a crash involving two vehicles at the intersection of State Road 54 and County Road 1000 West. He arrived on scene at 6:04 PM and saw a gray Chevrolet Malibu facing west in the eastbound lane of SR 54. The driver was still inside the vehicle because there was significant damage to the driver’s side. No other damaged vehicles were around.

The driver of the Malibu said he'd been driving east in the eastbound lane of SR 54 and he had a green light at the intersection so he continued east through the intersection. He said a white SUV was facing west on SR 54 in the turn lane and that vehicle proceeded to make a left turn without yielding right of way while the Malibu was passing through the intersection. He told Detective Hobbs the SUV hit his Malibu on the driver’s side and the impact caused the Malibu to spin 180 degrees and come to rest facing west. He also said the driver of the white SUV did not attempt to speak with him at all after the crash and left the scene driving south on CR 1000 W. Detective Hobbs said both the side doors on the driver’s side were damaged.

While on the scene, two separate individuals stopped at the scene and reported they had not witnessed the crash but they saw a white SUV with damage to its front end, and no license plate, drive through the Walmart parking lot. Hobbs said he was unable to look for the SUV at that time because he was using the emergency lights on his patrol vehicle to help control traffic and maintain the safety of the Malibu’s driver and the tow truck driver while the vehicle was removed from the roadway. After that, he transported the driver to his home.

Then at 7:41 PM, LPD dispatch told Hobbs that a man had called to report he'd been in a vehicle crash and that he was currently parked in the Walmart parking lot. Hobbs went to the lot and located a white Jeep Compass, with a temporary registration tag, in the far southwest section of the parking lot near the dumpster. He said the registration tag was located in the rear window of the vehicle so it would appear there was no registration plate on the vehicle because it was not in the designated location. Hobbs said the Jeep had front end damage and the front wheels were facing two separate ways. He also noted that this is not a usual location for a person to park their vehicle at Walmart.

Heldman was the driver of the Jeep Compass who said he had been hit by another vehicle at the intersection and that he waited in the roadway after the crash for 30 minutes but no police arrived on scene so he then went to the Walmart parking lot to wait for the police. Hobbs said Heldman told him the other vehicle had fled the scene while he was waiting in the roadway.

Detective Hobbs confronted Heldman with the inconsistencies between his statement and what actually occurred. He told Heldman it only took him a few minutes to get to the scene and Heldman was not waiting in the roadway for 30 minutes. Also, he confronted Heldman with the fact that he claimed the other vehicle fled the scene when the other vehicle was actually disabled in the roadway. He also told him two other people had described his vehicle and reported they watched it leave the scene immediately after the crash. Hobbs said Heldman continued to deny that his statement was entirely untrue.

Heldman was taken into custody and transported to the Greene County Jail where he was booked in at 8:34 PM with bond set at $500 surety with 10% cash allowed. He posted $50 and was released later that night.

Heldman’s initial hearing in Greene Superior Court is scheduled for April 24 to face charges of leaving the scene of an accident, a Class B misdemeanor, and false informing, a Class B misdemeanor.