A 67-year-old Milford man was killed Thursday, October 29, 2026, at about 4:55 p.m. in a three-vehicle crash at County Roads 17 and 40 in Elkhart County, and the driver investigators say caused it fled the scene before being tracked down through license-plate reading cameras. William Walker was pronounced dead at the scene from internal injuries, while two children riding in a third vehicle were taken to the hospital with injuries.
According to the 95.3 MNC, the Elkhart County Crash Investigation Team reported that a westbound minivan driven by 76-year-old Osceola resident Steven Cashen entered the intersection around 4:55 p.m. and struck the rear driver's side of Walker's southbound car. The impact sent Walker's car sliding into the path of a northbound SUV driven by 34-year-old New Paris resident Constance Lopez, with the passenger side of Walker's vehicle striking the front of Lopez's SUV. Both vehicles left the east side of the road and came to rest nearby.
Children Hurt, Driver Flees
Lopez and two children riding with her were taken to Elkhart General Hospital following the crash. Lopez reported head, neck and chest pain, while a 10-year-old girl in the vehicle complained of knee pain and a 5-year-old boy suffered cuts to his face and chest. Both children were wearing seat belts at the time of the crash, per the report.
Cashen left the scene after the first collision, but authorities located his vehicle using Flock cameras, the report states. The crash remains under investigation.
A Second Deadly Crash at the Same Intersection
This is not the first fatal wreck at County Roads 17 and 40. A four-vehicle crash at the same intersection killed two people on August 29, 2025, according to WSBT. Police said at the time that a 24-year-old Wakarusa man failed to stop at the County Road 40 stop sign before his vehicle hit two others. One WSBT report identified the victims as 21-year-old Steven Perez and 69-year-old Donna Gushwa of Milford.
In the aftermath of that crash, two additional stop signs were installed on the opposite sides of the roads from the existing ones, the same outlet's later report noted. Both roads at the intersection carry a 55-mile-per-hour speed limit, and that report cited speeding and driver inattention as factors adding to the risk of a crash there. The report also said a stoplight and turning lanes were planned for the intersection as part of a County Road 17 construction project, though it is unclear whether that work has since been completed.
Countywide Crash Numbers
Elkhart County recorded 179 fatal crashes and 197 fatalities from 2017 through 2023, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Fatality Analysis Reporting System compiled by FARS API. The Indiana University Public Policy Institute also compiles an annual report on crash characteristics for each of the state's 92 counties, offering county-level statistics on Elkhart County crashes, though that data does not speak specifically to the risk at County Roads 17 and 40. The Thursday, October 29, 2026, crash remains under investigation.
