NORTH WEBSTER - A North Webster man is dead and a Milford man was arrested after a car hit a tree early this morning.
A third man complained of pain but refused medical treatment.
According to a news release from the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office, the single-car crash occurred in the area of 8679 E. Epworth Forrest Road.
At 3:29 a.m. today, KCSO deputies and emergency personnel responded to a single-vehicle motor vehicle crash in the area of 8679 E. Epworth Forrest Road. Emergency personnel arrived on scene and found a 2017 Audi driven by Victor J. Waikel, 21, Milford. Preliminary investigation determined that Waikel was northbound on Epworth Forrest Road and, for an unknown reason, left the road, hitting a tree at a 90-degree curve, the release states.

    Victor Waikel
  

Ricardo L. Garcia, 36, North Webster, was pronounced dead at the scene by the Kosciusko County Coroner’s Office as result of his injuries suffered in the motor vehicle crash. Garcia was the rear passenger and was not wearing a seatbelt, according to the release.
Juan C. Acuahuitl, 22, North Webster, was a front-seat passenger and complained of pain but refused medical treatment at the scene.
Waikel was treated and released from Lutheran Kosciusko Hospital and transported to the Kosciusko County Jail and booked in on a preliminary charge of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.
KCSO was assisted at the scene by Kosciusko County Central Dispatch, North Webster Police Department, Kosciusko County Coroner’s Office, Tippecanoe Township Fire Territory and Reichert & Knepp Wrecker Service.
The crash remains under investigation by the Kosciusko County FACT.