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 "I
think it's a miracle I'm alive," said 17-year-old Karen Stotts after
surviving a 50-foot plummet into the Tippecanoe River in a mini-bus during
the April 3 tornado here.
Karen, of Fort Wayne, and five other persons were in a van when wind
swept it over the north side of Washington Street Bridge east of Monticello.
Killed in the accident were Elizabeth Scalf, 14; Margaret (Peggy) Stump, 18;
Jackie McKelleb, 17; Sharon Miller, 19; and Dr. Donald R. Richards, 37, all
of Fort Wayne.
Dr. Richards, chairman of a language department at Indiana-Purdue University
at Fort Wayne, was driver of the van, Karen said.
The six, plus four boys driving a separate car - including Miss Scalf's
brother - were enroute to Fort Wayne after attending a religious conference
in Illinois.
The boys were following the van and pulled over before reaching the bridge
due to high winds. They were not hurt.
Karen said that just before the van was hurled from the bridge, Richards
told his female passengers to get down on the floor of the van.
"The wind just took complete control of the bus, and flipped us over the
side of the bridge. . . we must've rolled over about two times on the way
down before hitting the water ."
Karen, who was in the back seat of the van, said she couldn't remember
hearing any of her friends inside the van screaming because "it all happened
so fast."
After the van plunged nose-first into the water from the 50-foot bridge, she
said she made her way out of the van through the shattered rear window, but
can't remember "if I crawled out on my own or if I was thrown out."
Seconds after getting clear of the van, Karen said she saw Richards and one
of the other girls floating in the water but was unable to reach them due to
the stiff current.
Karen who was only about 10 feet from one of the bridge's cement supports,
said "I tried to grab a hold of one of the columns after I got out, but the
current forced me down the river past it too fast."
A good swimmer, Karen said she let the current carry her about a half a mile
downstream where she was finally able to reach near the shore and grab a
branch to stop herself.
She then crawled onto shore in East Monticello and was cared for by Mrs.
Marie Person at the Holiday Resort there.
When Indiana State Trooper Donald K. Baber arrived to offer assistance later
that evening, he found Karen had been placed comfortably on a couch wrapped
in warm clothing and blankets.
Although she did not appear injured, Baber was concerned Karen should be
checked by medical authorities and drove her to White County Memorial
Hospital.
Enroute to the hospital in the patrol car, Karen at several instances asked
if a Mormon minister was in the area and if she could talk to him.
Apparently suffering from shock, Karen repeatedly fought back tears as she
asked Baber about her friends and if any of them made it out alive.
In a comforting tone, the veteran trooper assured her that everything
possible was being done to locate the missing girls and Richards.
After detection of a minor concussion was made by White County Hospital
doctors, Karen was transferred to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Lafayette, where
she was treated and released
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