A 47-year-old Indianapolis man is dead after a serious crash on Kokomo's south side Wednesday night, at the busy intersection where U.S. 31 meets State Road 26. Police and EMS crews were called to the scene at roughly 7:40 p.m. and found the man, later identified as Joshua Randall Rhoads, suffering from serious injuries. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to FOX 59, the Kokomo Police Department is investigating the crash alongside the Howard County Coroner's Office and Indiana State Police. Per Howard County Coroner David E. Granger, as reported by WTHR, the crash occurred shortly before 8 p.m. on September 9 at the intersection of U.S. 31 and State Road 26 on Kokomo's south side.
Granger confirmed that Rhoads died from multiple blunt force injuries and officially ruled the manner of death accidental, according to The Kokomo Lantern. Multi-agency investigations involving Kokomo police, Indiana State Police, and the coroner's office are standard procedure for fatal vehicle crashes within city limits, the outlet notes, with ISP typically assisting local police with specialized crash reconstruction.
A Corridor Built to Handle Heavy Traffic
The intersection where Rhoads died carries heavy commuter traffic between Kokomo and Indianapolis alongside regional commercial truck freight, according to SR22 Insurance Indiana. Kokomo has roughly 60,000 residents and sits about 60 miles north of Indianapolis, the site notes, making U.S. 31 a critical link for daily commuters and haulers alike.
The corridor has been the focus of major state investment for over a decade. In 2013, the Indiana Department of Transportation completed a $155 million U.S. 31 Kokomo Freeway bypass project, constructing 13 miles of four-lane limited-access highway meeting interstate standards to reroute heavy north-south traffic away from city surface streets, according to the Indiana Department of Transportation. Under the state's Next Level Connections initiative, INDOT aimed to convert U.S. 31 into a completely free-flow route without traffic signals between Indianapolis and South Bend by late 2026, investing hundreds of millions of dollars to add interchanges and remove grade crossings.
Local Agencies Have Targeted Speeding and Distraction
Local law enforcement has also ramped up its own efforts this year. In April, the Kokomo Police Department and Howard County Sheriff's Office launched targeted overtime enforcement patrols funded by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute to address speeding and distracted driving, part of the statewide Comprehensive Highway Injury Reduction Program, per the Lantern's earlier reporting.
Those efforts reflect a broader statewide problem. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration figures cited by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute recorded 249 speeding-related fatalities and 47 distracted driving deaths across Indiana in 2023, according to WIBC, with officials noting that distracted driving deaths are frequently underreported. Fatality Analysis Reporting System data published by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute also shows that nearly 14 percent of Indiana traffic fatalities in 2024 involved alcohol, while more than 35 percent involved drug impairment, the same Kokomo outlet has reported separately.
Second Fatal Crash for Coroner's Office in Recent Months
Rhoads' death is not the only fatal crash the Howard County Coroner's Office has investigated this year. In June, the office investigated the death of a 13-year-old moped rider who died from multiple blunt force injuries after colliding with a pickup truck, a case that WTHR reported was also ruled accidental following an autopsy.
No further details about vehicle counts, weather conditions, or additional injuries from Wednesday's crash have been released. The investigation by Kokomo police, Indiana State Police, and the coroner's office remains ongoing.
