Part of State Road 45 closed following Friday night wreck

Traffic on State Road 45 near the Greene and Monroe county line was slow and down to one lane for about one and one-half hours Friday evening due to an accident involving an SUV that was towing a Jeep.

The driver, James L. Byrd, 36, of Bloomington, who was operating a 1999 Ford Explorer and pulling a 1994 Jeep Wrangler with a tow bar, was not reported to be injured after his vehicle flipped over.

Greene County Sheriff's Deputy Jeremy Inman responded to the scene around 8:44 p.m.

Byrd was northbound on the highway at the intersection of County Road 350N into Timber Trace Addition in Center Township when the accident occurred.

According to the accident report, Byrd said the towed Jeep started to move around a lot which caused him to run off the roadway on the west side of the highway.

Deputy Inman reported the Jeep came free from the tow bar and struck a tree. Byrd's Explorer struck a box owned by Smithville Telephone Company and then flipped and came to rest on its top.

Besides other deputies from the Sheriff's Department, the Greene County Ambulance Service and Center Township Fire Department also responded to assist on the scene.