By Margie Wuebker
mwuebker@dailystandard.com A Coldwater girl died Thursday afternoon at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton of injuries sustained in an Aug. 12 accident at the intersection of Fairground and Fleetfoot roads west of Celina.
Sarah Marie Evers, 13, 308 E. South St., had been listed in critical condition in the hospital's intensive care unit since the accident. She initially was transported to Mercer County Community Hospital in Coldwater and later transferred via CareFlight helicopter.
She would have started eighth-grade classes next week at Coldwater Junior High School, where she was a member of the track team and the Family Career and Community Leaders of America chapter. The teenager also was a member of the Coldwater Cudas Swim Team and Coldwater United Methodist Church.
The accident occurred shortly before 3 p.m. Aug. 12 when Fred Grimm, 85, 6216 Morrow Road, Celina, drove from a Fleetfoot Road stop sign and struck an eastbound minivan driven by the girl's father, 60-year-old Ted Evers. The Evers van spun in the roadway striking the westbound car of Jessica Brown, 30, 7100 Fleetfoot Road, Celina, and then traveling off the pavement approximately 20 feet into a cornfield. It reportedly rolled coming to rest on its wheels.
Sarah Evers and fellow backseat passenger Emily Grieshop, 12, 116 E. South St., Coldwater, were ejected with Grieshop pinned beneath the vehicle. Witnesses at the scene reported Ted Evers, bleeding from a head wound, attempted to lift the van as he screamed for help. Three unidentified passersby rushed to his aid and together lifted the van enough to free the girl.
Katie Evers, Sarah's twin sister, also was injured but remained inside the vehicle.
Ambulances left the scene with the injured bound for Community Hospital as a bystander pointed to items laying side by side amid downed cornstalks. The two pink and white John Deere hats reportedly belonged to the twin sisters.
Mercer County Sheriff's deputies continue to investigate the accident. Sheriff Jeff Grey said no charges have been filed as yet. The completed report will be forwarded to the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office, which Grey indicated is standard procedure in fatal accidents.
The death of the Evers girl represents the fifth traffic fatality on Mercer County roadways this year.
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