3 Teens Die In Crash
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
PIERCETON - Three teens were killed in a one-vehicle accident early Sunday morning near Pierceton.
Pronounced dead at the scene of the 2:40 a.m. accident were John C.G. Johnson, 19, of 7406 E. Shoop Road, Pierceton; Adam J. Bernicky, 18, of 515 Clinic Court, Warsaw; and Joshua L. Hartline, 16, of 920 Anchorage Road #74, Warsaw. All three of the teens died from head injuries.
Police said alcohol is believed to be a factor in the accident and noted that broken beer bottles and drug paraphernalia were found in the wreckage. It is suspected that the three were at a Halloween party prior to the time of the accident, according to Kosciusko County Sheriff Al Rovenstine. Tests to confirm whether the teens consumed alcohol before the accident have not yet been concluded.
A passerby discovered the car in the woods along Ind. 13, south of CR700E, after seeing tire marks on the pavement indicating a vehicle might have left the roadway. He turned around and saw the car and injured teens, then drove into Pierceton to notify authorities.
According to a Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department report, the car, driven by Johnson, was traveling southbound on Ind. 13 at a high rate of speed when it left the west side of the road. The driver apparently overcorrected when attempting to bring the car back onto the road and the vehicle then left the east side of roadway. The car traveled about 362 feet before it first struck a tree broadside on the passenger side, then hit another tree head-on.
Police did not offer an exact speed level, but said that, due to the off-road distance traveled and the extent of damage to the vehicle, the car was traveling at an extremely high rate of speed.
Assisting at the scene were Pierceton police and fire departments and Pierceton and Multi-Township emergency medical services.
Sunday's fatality brings the total number of traffic deaths for 1998 to 22, nearly twice that of this time in 1997 when there were 12 traffic fatalities during the first 10 months. [[In-content Ad]]
PIERCETON - Three teens were killed in a one-vehicle accident early Sunday morning near Pierceton.
Pronounced dead at the scene of the 2:40 a.m. accident were John C.G. Johnson, 19, of 7406 E. Shoop Road, Pierceton; Adam J. Bernicky, 18, of 515 Clinic Court, Warsaw; and Joshua L. Hartline, 16, of 920 Anchorage Road #74, Warsaw. All three of the teens died from head injuries.
Police said alcohol is believed to be a factor in the accident and noted that broken beer bottles and drug paraphernalia were found in the wreckage. It is suspected that the three were at a Halloween party prior to the time of the accident, according to Kosciusko County Sheriff Al Rovenstine. Tests to confirm whether the teens consumed alcohol before the accident have not yet been concluded.
A passerby discovered the car in the woods along Ind. 13, south of CR700E, after seeing tire marks on the pavement indicating a vehicle might have left the roadway. He turned around and saw the car and injured teens, then drove into Pierceton to notify authorities.
According to a Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department report, the car, driven by Johnson, was traveling southbound on Ind. 13 at a high rate of speed when it left the west side of the road. The driver apparently overcorrected when attempting to bring the car back onto the road and the vehicle then left the east side of roadway. The car traveled about 362 feet before it first struck a tree broadside on the passenger side, then hit another tree head-on.
Police did not offer an exact speed level, but said that, due to the off-road distance traveled and the extent of damage to the vehicle, the car was traveling at an extremely high rate of speed.
Assisting at the scene were Pierceton police and fire departments and Pierceton and Multi-Township emergency medical services.
Sunday's fatality brings the total number of traffic deaths for 1998 to 22, nearly twice that of this time in 1997 when there were 12 traffic fatalities during the first 10 months. [[In-content Ad]]