UPDATE (June 30, 2023):
ALLEN CO., Ind. (ADAMS) – The 30-year-old man killed in a crash on US 33 in Allen County on Wednesday has been identified as Ethan Richardson of Fort Wayne.
He was killed when a tanker truck hit his vehicle after he had been stopped by another crash. The coroner says Richardson died from multiple blunt-force trauma injuries.
The Allen County Coroner’s Office released the following:
On Wednesday, June 28th, 2023, at about 04:50 hours, the Allen County Coroner’s Office was notified of a motor vehicle crash at the Intersection of US 33 at Cook Road, in Fort Wayne. The male victim that was pronounced dead at the scene was the driver of one of the vehicles.
The driver of the vehicle was identified as Ethan Russel Owen Richardson, 30, male, White of Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Notification has been made to the next of kin. The Cause of Death is Multiple Blunt Force Injuries due to Motor Vehicle Crash and the Manner of Death is Accident. Ethan Russell Owen Richardson is the 19th motor vehicle fatality for Allen County in 2023. This incident is under investigation by the Allen County Police Department, the Allen County Prosecutor’s Office and the Allen County Coroner’s Office.
ORIGINAL STORY:
ALLEN CO., Ind. (ADAMS) – The Allen County Sheriff’s Department says that one person was killed in a crash early Wednesday morning on U.S. 33.
It happened just before 5 a.m. close to Cook Road.
The Allen County Sheriff’s Department says that an SUV going westbound on W. Cook was initially hit by a passenger vehicle going northbound on U.S. 33 after it drove onto the roadway.
Officials say that after the driver of the SUV checked on the occupant in the passenger car he went back to his SUV which was then disabled from the first crash.
That’s when a straight-truck tanker that was heading northbound struck the SUV. The SUV driver, who has not been identified, was pronounced dead at the scene. Right now, the Allen County Sheriff’s Department says it does not know if he was inside or outside the SUV at the time of the impact.
The driver of the car involved in the first crash is in fair condition and the tanker driver was not hurt.
The Allen County Sheriff’s Department says this is an ongoing investigation.
The northbound lanes of U.S. 33 were closed for several hours.
The Allen County Sheriff’s Department released the following:
On June 28, 2023, at approximately 4:54 A.M., officers with the Allen County Sheriff’s Department responded to the intersection of U.S. 33 at W. Cook Road, after 911 callers reported a personal injury crash.
Upon arrival, officers located three vehicles in the intersection. A preliminary investigation indicated that an SUV, which was westbound on W. Cook Road, entered the intersection at U.S. 33 and was struck by a passenger car, which was northbound on U.S. 33. The driver of the SUV checked on the other driver, then went back to the SUV.
A straight-truck tanker vehicle was northbound on U.S. 33 at W. Cook Road and struck the SUV, which was disabled in the middle of the northbound lanes from the first crash. The adult male driver of the SUV was pronounced deceased at the scene. At the time of this press release, it is unclear whether the driver of the SUV was inside of the vehicle or outside of the vehicle when it was struck by the tanker.
The adult male driver of the tanker truck was not injured. The adult male driver of the passenger car was in fair condition.
Northbound and southbound lanes of U.S. 33 were closed for at least four hours.
This is an active and ongoing investigation.
The Fort Wayne Police Department assisted with the initial scene.
The Indiana State Police assisted with the investigation.
