An officer from the Attica Police Department was the first to arrive on scene, and determined that one of the vehicles involved had caught fire. Crews from the three responding fire departments worked together to quickly extinguish the fire. EMS from both Fountain and Warren Counties, as well as West Point Fire Department, transported four injured occupants to IU Arnett and Franciscan Health East in Lafayette. Unfortunately, an occupant of one of the vehicles was pronounced dead at the scene by the Fountain County Coroner.
Preliminary investigation by Trooper Thad Decker revealed that a black 2015 Dodge Durango had stopped in the westbound lane of SR 28, waiting for oncoming traffic to pass, to make a left turn into a driveway. A 2016 silver Chevrolet Equinox was traveling westbound, and the driver could not stop in time, rear-ending the black Durango. A black 2020 Ford Edge was also traveling westbound, and the driver swerved into the eastbound lane, colliding head-on with a white 2019 for F-150 pulling a box trailer, traveling eastbound. A gray Mazda 3 was also traveling eastbound, and the driver was unable to come to a stop, before colliding with the trailer that was in tow of the white F-150.
State Road 28 was closed in both directions between State Road 341 and County Road 725E for approximately 4 hours for investigation and clean-up.
Crash Reconstructionist from the Indiana State Police were called to the scene, and the crash remains under investigation at this time. These crashes involve a complex and thorough investigation, and take a great deal of time to complete. Once the investigation has been completed, the full report will be turned over to the Fountain County Prosecutor’s Office for review and determination of any criminal charges.
Trooper Decker was assisted by troopers from the Lafayette Post and Crash Investigation and Reconstruction Team, Fountain County Sheriff’s Department, Attica Police Department, Attica Fire Department, Mellott Fire Department, West Point Fire Department, Fountain County EMS, Warren County EMS, Fountain County Coroner’s Office, Beedle’s Towing, and Plunkett’s Towing.
The name of the deceased will not be released until positively identified and family has been notified. An updated release will follow sometime tomorrow. Also, the identification of the other occupants involved will also be made available in that updated release. There is no other information to release at this time.