A 64-year-old Kokomo motorcyclist is in critical but stable condition after a car crossed into his lane and struck him head-on outside the Jefferson Crossing Apartments on North Dixon Road last Sunday evening. The driver of the car told officers he had fallen asleep at the wheel moments before the crash.
According to the Kokomo Police Department, officers were dispatched to the 800 block of North Dixon Road just after 7:30 p.m. last Sunday after reports of a traffic accident involving a car and a motorcycle. The motorcyclist, identified as Lenney Belt of Kokomo, was riding north on Dixon Road in the right lane when a 2009 Toyota Prius driven by a 64-year-old Kokomo resident crossed into the northbound lanes while traveling south and struck the motorcycle head-on, police said. As reported by WTHR, the collision occurred just north of West Jefferson Street, and Belt was first taken to a local medical facility before being airlifted to a trauma center.
Belt suffered serious bodily injury in the crash and remains in critical but stable condition, per the police department's release. A City of Kokomo statement says all Kokomo firefighters are EMT certified. Belt was flown out after the crash. Ascension St. Vincent maintains the StatFlight air medical network, which stations helicopters regionally to move critically injured patients directly to Level I trauma centers in Indianapolis.
Driver Evaluated, Declined Care
The driver was medically evaluated at the scene but declined immediate medical care, the department's release states. He was later transported to an area hospital, where he underwent a blood draw conducted pursuant to Indiana's implied consent law. The driver told officers he had fallen asleep at the wheel just before the crash.
The blood draw stems from a legal requirement rather than any indication of a specific finding: under Indiana Code § 9-30-7-2 and § 9-30-7-3, any driver involved in a crash resulting in serious bodily injury or death is deemed to have implicitly consented to chemical testing, which must be administered within three hours of the incident. Indiana's code includes provisions addressing serious bodily injury, according to the Indiana General Assembly's code.
Toxicology Results Could Take Weeks
The case remains active, and police say details are subject to change as the investigation continues.
National research offers context for the driver's account of falling asleep behind the wheel. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that drowsy driving causes roughly 100,000 collisions and 71,000 injuries annually across the country, according to data cited by Keller & Keller Injury Lawyers.
A Corridor With a Recent History of Crashes
The stretch of North Dixon Road where Sunday's crash happened runs past the Jefferson Crossing Apartments. No details about other collisions on the corridor are provided here.
Statewide, the available sources here do not provide verified 2024 figures on motorcyclist fatalities, motorcycle collisions, or leading crash factors.
Kokomo police responded to Sunday's crash. Anyone with information is asked to contact Sgt. Chad Mooney at 765-456-7600 ext. 8430. The release was issued by Sgt. Mooney, with Captain C. Fourkiller serving as public information officer, under case number KPD-26-04175.
