By Brandi Watters, Herald Bulletin Staff Writer
June 28, 2009 11:14 pm
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ALEXANDRIA - The Anderson man sent by life-line helicopter to Indianapolis after a rollover crash on Indiana 9 last Wednesday is recovering after receiving only minor injuries.
Steve Wiesenauer, 67, of Anderson, received multiple injuries when he lost control of his vehicle and rolled in a ditch on northbound Indiana 9 around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday evening.
Witnesses at the scene observed Wiesenauer driving erratically in and out of lanes with a blown tire before crashing the vehicle.
He was send by PHI helicopter to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.
On Sunday, Wiesenauer’s daughter, 23-year-old Alana Wiesenauer of Noblesville, told The Herald Bulletin that her father is recovering from a broken rib, broken collarbone and spinal injuries.
“He’s not paralyzed,” Alana exclaimed, shocked by her father’s luck.
“On the way to the hospital, we were preparing to say our good-byes,” Alana said, saying she heard how bad her father’s accident was and expected him to die.
Alana believes her father’s erratic driving on the evening of the accident was caused by illness.
“He’s diabetic, and he’s been seeing this new diabetes doctor who’s been trying to get it regulated. We think he went hypoglycemic while driving.”
Alana said her father is not a drinker and is confident that he was not intoxicated at the time of the crash.
Now awake and alert, Wiesenauer says he has no memory of the drive that could’ve ended his life.
Wiesenauer was supposed to pick up a friend on the opposite end of town and still has no idea why he was heading northbound on Indiana 9 near County Road 600 North, she said.
Alana estimates that her father was driving around town running errands starting at 2 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.
“I’m surprised he lasted that long because normally he will have a seizure.”
Madison County Sheriff Ron Richardson responded to the scene of the crash and said it wasn’t the first time his deputies had encountered a diabetic driver that seemed like a drunk driver. “Initially, anyone, including law enforcement, would first consider that person to be impaired, by alcohol or other means.”
“One of the things you’re going to see with a diabetic, if they are driving erratically, sometimes they will be disoriented.”
Richardson said he and his men once boxed in a vehicle driven by a diabetic driver and even turned on emergency lights to get the driver’s attention. Despite their efforts, the driver didn’t seem to realize he was being signaled by the police to stop the car.
They were eventually able to stop the vehicle.
Dealing with a diabetic driver with low blood sugar can be dangerous, he said. “We take the chance of having our vehicles crashed into and our people hurt.”
No one else was hurt as a result of Wiesenauer’s driving.
He is expected to be released from Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis in the next week or two, Alana said.
Contact Brandi Watters 640-4847, brandi.watters@heraldbulletin.com
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