Speed and possibly alcohol are to blame for a single-vehicle accident that sent five people to hospitals via air ambulance. It happened just before 5 p.m. Monday night on 400 North near 350 East in Pulaski County. When sheriff’s deputies arrived they found a Pontiac G-6 overturned on the north side of the road in a cornfield.
The driver, 25-year-old Tiffany M. Burden of Monticello, was westbound on 400 North at a high rate of speed and lost control of the car, according to investigators. She and 24-year-old Christina J. Elam of Monterey were thrown from the vehicle, as were a four-month old girl, a one-year-old girl and a five-year-old boy. The crash report indicates restraints were not in use. They were all flown to various hospitals. Their conditions are not known .
Authorities say a sixth person, believed to have been riding in the front seat, fled the area. Billy Joe Burden, 26, of Monticello, is wanted on a Cass County bench warrant stemming from a misdemeanor public intoxication charge. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to call the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office at 574-946-6655.
