Musician Ralph Tourkow is fondly remembered as a talented musician who had a jovial sense of humor and a schedule of dinner dates. His family and friends agree that to meet Tourkow was to instantly meet a friend.A man with a blood-alcohol level of more than six times the legal limit crashed a car into four minivans Thursday, injuring himself and two others, Fort Wayne police said.
A test at a hospital showed the man had a blood-alcohol level of 0.52 percent, said officer Raquel Foster, a police spokeswoman.
"Amazingly, there was no fatality," she said of the crash, adding that she's never before seen a blood-alcohol level that high in her experience with the police department. The legal limit for Indiana drivers is 0.08 percent.
Witnesses told police the man was driving a silver Toyota Corolla south on Maplecrest Road, approaching Evard Road where southbound traffic was waiting at a red light. The Corolla did not stop and ran into the four minivans, police said.
Emergency crews were sent to the scene at 2:40 p.m. Firefighters extricated two people from the minivans, and medics took three people, including the Corolla driver, to the hospital, police said.
The Corolla driver was in serious condition at the scene. He remained hospitalized Thursday night, and charges against him are pending. Of the two other motorists taken to the hospital, one was in serious condition and the other was in fair condition, Foster said.
The names of those involved in the crash were not immediately available.
Shortly before the crash, Allen County police received a report that the Corolla was driving recklessly, and county officers tried to find the car, Foster said.
Maplecrest Road was closed to traffic until 4:30 p.m. while police investigated the crash and while firefighters cleared debris and cleaned up spilled gasoline.
