HANCOCK COUNTY — They were out on a test ride. The couple, riding Honda motorcycles, were checking the mileage and ride times for a 150-mile motorcycle fundraiser that will pass through the county later this month.
They pulled over onto the westbound shoulder along U.S. 40 east of Greenfield at 4:20 p.m. Saturday. That’s when their lives changed in an instant.
A minivan sideswiped the couple, who’d only been stopped for few minutes.
Lorin Smith, 53, Indianapolis; and his wife, Tina Smith, 50, Indianapolis, each lost their left leg above the knee. Each also suffered broken left arms.
The driver of the minivan, Amanda Carton, 39, Knightstown, was not injured in the crash, officials said. Carton was cooperative with officials and provided information about the accident, said Maj. Robert Campbell, chief deputy of the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department.
The accident is still under investigation.
Brenda Heck Eckel, Greenfield, is Tina’s cousin. The two grew up together and remained close even when Tina, who lived in Greenfield for a time, moved to the east side of Indianapolis.
Eckel went to see her cousin Sunday afternoon. Despite what Tina and her husband have been through, Tina was alert and in good spirits.
“The first thing she told me is she is going to walk again,” Eckel said. “But, she said, she was never going to ride again.”
When the couple leaves the hospital, they’ll go to a rehabilitation center for physical therapy and to be fitted for prosthetics. The two will have to learn how to walk again, Tina told her cousin.
The Smiths were out preparing for the eighth annual Carmen Ellis Memorial Ride, named for a 3-year-old girl who was beaten to death in August 2012. The money they raise on the annual ride goes to Lutheran Child and Family Services.
Tina was the child’s grandmother.
Eckel said the Smiths want to ride to go on as scheduled on Aug. 17.
As for the woman whose van hit the couple, she stopped and immediately started trying to help, Eckel said.
“The woman started praying for Tina,” Eckel said.
Carton told sheriff’s deputies she had looked over at a cell phone just before the collision, which occurred in the westbound lanes in the 9200 block of east U.S. 40.
First-responders from the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department, Greenfield Fire Territory and Charlottesville Fire Department responded and worked feverishly trying to save both victims. They were transported by helicopter to a hospital in Indianapolis.
Corey Breese, public information officer for Greenfield Fire Territory, said quick thinking by Lorin Smith, who applied a tourniquet to his upper leg with his belt, more than likely kept him from bleeding to death.
“If he doesn’t do that, we’re likely looking at a different scenario for him,” Breese said. “Thankfully, he had the self awareness to do that.”
Eckel said her cousin bears no animosity toward the driver of the van and even felt badly for the woman, knowing she will have to relive the accident as vividly as its victims.
For Eckel, who had heard there was an accident in the county on social media Saturday, said she didn’t realize it involved her cousin until a relative posted the information later that night.
She’s just thankful to have a chance to talk with her cousin again.
“As bad as it is, it could have been worse,” Eckel said.
