Published: April 18, 2008 10:20 pm         

Driver faces charges from fatal November crash

TERRE HAUTE — Charges were filed against a semitrailer driver accused of being responsible for the deaths of two people in a November crash.

Richard H. Fulk, 59, of Worthington was charged Friday with two counts of reckless homicide, class-C felonies.

Max and Joyce Strain of Prairie Creek were killed instantly on Nov. 16 when the Ford pickup truck in which they were traveling hit Fulk’s semi.

The semitrailer, carrying a load of logs, failed to negotiate a curve as it headed north on Indiana 63 just past Farmer Drive about 1,000 feet south of Harlan Drive. It overturned near New Harmony Cemetery. The Strains were traveling south and collided with Fulk when his semi entered the southbound lane.

Fulk’s trailer then flipped and the load of logs were lost on the roadway. Several logs from the semi struck the Strains’ vehicle, according to court documents.

Fenton Phelps, 53, of Terre Haute was driving about 100 feet behind the Strains in a Chevrolet pickup. His vehicle also was struck by logs, but he ended up on top of many of them. He didn’t appear to have any injuries and went home a few hours after the accident.

Phelps told police he thought the tandem axle of the semi struck the Strains’ truck before the trailer flipped over, the documents stated.

Firefighters had to extricate the couple from the truck. Both were wearing seat belts and their air bags deployed.

There is a diamond-shaped information sign indicating the 90 degree curve with a suggested speed of 35 mph about 500 feet before the curve, according to the crash report from the Indiana State Police.

Fulk told police he thought he had been traveling between 50 and 55 mph on the curve and felt something shift after applying the brakes, court documents stated.

If convicted of a class-C felony, a person could spend between two and eight years in prison and pay up to $10,000 in fines.

Crystal Garcia can be reached at (812) 231-4271 or crystal.garcia@tribstar.com.