UPDATE (February 15, 2023):
The Allen County Coroner has identified a man killed in what appears to be a tragic accident on Monday off Wells Street.
Just before noon, close to Edy’s Ice Cream, the man was run over by a piece of construction equipment.
Witnesses told police he had been looking at his phone just prior to the accident and said he didn’t appear to know the construction vehicle was backing up.
The Allen County Coroner has identified him as Todd Allen Ort and ruled his death accidental.
The following was released Tuesday:
On Monday, February 13th , 2023, the Allen County Coroner’s Office was notified of a pedestrian versus dump truck accident in the 3400 Block of Wells Street, in Fort Wayne. The pedestrian was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The pedestrian was identified as Todd Allen Ort, 53, male, White of New Haven, Indiana.
Notification has been made to the next of kin and an autopsy has been completed. The Cause of Death has been determined to be Multiple Blunt Impact Injuries due to Pedestrian Versus Motor Vehicle Crash and the Manner of Death is ruled an Accident.
Todd Allen Ort is the 4th traffic fatality for Allen County for 2023.
This incident is under investigation by the Fort Wayne Police Department, the Allen County Prosecutor’s Office and the Allen County Coroner’s Office.
ORIGINAL STORY:
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (ADAMS) – Fort Wayne Police Department officials say a man is dead after an accident on Monday morning.
Just before noon, close to Edy’s Ice Cream on Wells Street, the man was run over by a piece of construction equipment. Witnesses told police he had been looking at his phone just prior to the accident and said he didn’t appear to know the construction vehicle was backing up.
Police were called to the scene just before noon and found the man deceased. The driver of the vehicle is said to be fully cooperating with the investigation.
The identity of the man that died has not yet been released.
FWPD officials released the following:
On February 13, 2023 at approximately 11:38 am Fort Wayne Police Officers responded to a fatal motor vehicle accident. Upon arrival to the scene officers observed one deceased adult male who had been backed over by a construction vehicle driven by an adult male. The Fatal Accident Crash Team was paged to take over the investigation. Initial witness statements describe the victim on his phone, unaware of the backing construction vehicle that hit him. The driver of the vehicle is cooperating with investigators. The FWPD chaplain made the scene to assist with grieving co-workers.
The victim was a construction worker, working on site. The Coroner’s office will release the deceased identity, along with the cause and manner of death pending next of kin notification.
This incident remains under investigation by the Fort Wayne Police Department, the Allen County Prosecutor’s office, and the Allen County Coroner’s Office.