TIPTON COUNTY, Ind. — One man is dead and several more injured after a Volkswagen driven by a teenager attempted to pass two pickup trucks pulling ammonia tanks on State Road 28 and ended up causing a crash between the pickups and a semi traveling in the opposite direction.
Indiana State Police revealed that 57-year-old Matthew Marley of Rossville died after his semi hauling grain collided head-on with a Dodge pickup truck pulling anhydrous tanks.
According to Indiana State Police, the collision occurred on State Road 28 near County Road 1050 west, just west of Tetersburg, a little after noon on Monday.
Investigators said the crash was caused by a 17-year-old who attempted to pass two pickups traveling westbound on State Road 28 that were pulling the anhydrous ammonia tanks. As the 17-year-old attempted to pass the two pickups, Marley’s Peterbilt semi was driving eastbound on State Road 28.
ISP said the 17-year-old sideswiped both the lead pickup hauling the tanks along with the semi-truck. The collision caused Marley’s Peterbilt to lose control and cross the center line, striking the second pickup hauling the tanks head-on.
State police said both Marley and the driver of the second pickup, a 42-year-old man from Tipton, were flown by helicopter to Indianapolis. Marley was pronounced dead at the hospital. The Tipton man remains in stable condition.
The 17-year-old suffered minor injuries, according to police, while the driver of the lead pickup truck hauling the tanks — a 40-year-old man from Frankfort — was not harmed.
State police said drugs or alcohol are not believed to be a factor in the crash.
State Road 28 was closed for several hours due to the semi coming to a rest on top of the Dodge while laying across the roadway. Grain also was spilled across the road as a result of the collision.