Hoosier Happenings

Production resumes at Ind. Toyota plant

Production work has resumed as planned at Toyota’s southwestern Indiana plant after a week-long shutdown for the company to repair defective gas pedals.

Spokeswoman Kelly Dillon said the factory near Princeton was back to “business as usual” when its lines restarted on Monday. About 4,200 people work at the factory.

Toyota allowed its employees to report to the plant and do nonproduction work, take paid vacation time or take unpaid days off.


Ind. man sues NIPSCO after wife killed in blast

A Fort Wayne man whose wife was fatally injured in a natural gas explosion at their home is suing the gas company, saying neighbors reported fumes before the blast.

 Michael Betancourt’s 55-year-old wife Janice died in April, a month after suffering severe burns on more than 75 percent of her body. The lawsuit filed in Allen County court says she died from blood poisoning as a result of her injuries. Investigators attributed the fire to a natural gas leak.

 Court documents say Northern Indiana Public Service Co. employees repaired a leaking gas pipe on the couple’s property after the explosion without documenting the pipe’s damage.


Slain inmate’s mother questions cell mate placement

The mother of an inmate who was fatally strangled by his cell mate in a southern Indiana prison’s mental health unit questions why her son was housed with a violent offender when he had just weeks remaining on his sentence.

A Sullivan County judge sentenced 37-year-old Luis Silveria to 65 years in prison at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility near Carlisle, Ind., for the August death of 25-year-old Patrick Whetstone. Prison spokesman Rich Larsen says both inmates went through a screening process with mental health staffers before being placed together.

Silveria was serving time for several Steuben County convictions, including resisting arrest, criminal recklessness and intimidation.