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Three people are hospitalized in Fort Wayne after two weekend accidents in Kosciusko County.
Alcohol is believed to be a factor in a Saturday morning accident in which a car hit a house near Syracuse. The driver and a passenger in his car were injured.
According to a Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department report, Jose L. Hernandez Jr., 24, of Ligonier, suffered head injuries in the 3 a.m. Saturday accident near the intersection of CR 850E and Hatchery Road.
Police said Hernandez was northbound on CR 850E and failed to stop at the intersection of Hatchery Road. The car Hernandez was driving left the roadway, where it struck a utility pole and a tree before hitting a vacant house.
A passenger in Hernandez's car, Juan Maiquez, 22, of Cromwell, suffered a broken leg. Both men were airlifted to Parkview Hospital, Fort Wayne, where they were listed in fair condition this morning, according to hospital officials.
Damage was estimated at $2,500 to $5,000 to Hernandez's car, $5,000 to $10,000 to property belonging to Charles Stuckman and less than $750 to the NIPSCO pole.
Syracuse Fire Department and Syracuse Emergency Medical Service assisted at the scene. The accident remains under investigation.
In an early Sunday accident, a Warsaw man was injured when he lost control of the motorcycle he was driving and left the roadway.
Michael J. Duzan, 38, of West Palestine Road, Mentone, was ejected from the motorcycle in the 12:02 a.m. accident on County Farm Road, 300 feet south of CR 350S, near Warsaw. He suffered internal injuries and back pain. He was airlifted to Parkview, where he was listed in serious condition this morning.
Alcohol also is believed to be a factor in this accident, police said.
A press release from the KCSD indicates Duzan was northbound on County Farm Road when he failed to negotiate a curve and went into a ditch off the right side of the road.
Personnel from Warsaw Fire Department and Multi-Township Emergency Medical Service assisted at the scene. The accident remains under investigation.
