Driver charged with causing accident which closed bridge in Winfield Township
The driver who caused an accident that led to an overnight closure of Smith Road bridge in Winfield Township last month has been charged.
James Minton, 55, of Cabot, was charged with seven counts related to the accident, which occurred in the early hours of July 29. The charges included careless driving, failure to immediately notify police of an accident and driving at an unsafe speed.
The crash damaged the bridge’s guardrail, and no one witnessed it. Township roadmaster Craig Govan came across Minton’s vehicle while driving up and down the area looking for any damaged vehicles.
Police officers visited Minton, and he admitted causing the crash.
“There’s not a lot of random drivers on Smith Road. It’s pretty remote,” said township supervisor Matthew Klabnik. “The roadmaster just drove up the road and looked for a damaged vehicle and found one.”
The bridge, which takes drivers over Rough Run, was closed shortly after the crash pending engineering inspections. It reopened a day later with some temporary fixes.
“The township has added stop signs to the bridge and added ‘thrower blocks’ to the side with the damaged guide rail,” Klabnik said.
In the long term, the township is looking to have the bridge replaced, as it was doing even before the accident. Klabnik previously described the bridge as “shaky.”
“We are currently compiling costs for damage repair and will work to replace the bridge as soon as practical, hopefully within a year,” Klabnik said. “We've filed a claim with our insurance, and I assume they will pursue Mr. Minton for recovery of the claim.”
