A two-vehicle crash on State Road 350 near Mount Sinai in Dearborn County has left at least one person dead, prompting Indiana State Police to shut down the road. Dearborn County Dispatch received the initial emergency call around 6:20 a.m.
The closure has forced drivers onto the Old State Road 350 detour while troopers work the scene, according to WLWT. Details on the incident remain limited: what led to the crash has not been determined, and it is not yet known whether anyone else was hurt.
A Highway With a Troubling Recent History
The area has seen at least one other severe crash.
Just weeks ago, on September 1, the Dearborn/Ohio County Prosecutor's Office filed multiple Level 4 felony OWI counts against a 46-year-old Moores Hill man tied to a June 12 head-on crash on SR 350 that killed a Milan couple and injured their two young children, the station's report notes.
Another head-on collision killed two drivers after a 27-year-old motorist tried to pass an empty school bus in a no-passing zone, according to WRBI Radio. That crash shut down SR 350 for three hours while Dearborn County Sheriff's deputies and state troopers investigated.
Statutory Penalties When Impairment Is a Factor
Indiana law treats fatal drunk-driving crashes with particular severity. An OWI causing death is at least a Level 5 felony and becomes Level 4 under specified circumstances, including a prior OWI within five years, a suspended license, or a BAC of at least 0.15, as outlined by the Westport Police Department.
The cause of Tuesday's crash remains unknown. Indiana State Police's Versailles District 42 is based in Versailles, according to IN.gov.
This is a developing story, and Indiana State Police have not released the identity of the person killed or confirmed a cause of the crash. Hoodline will update this article as additional details from the investigation become available.
