Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
CLAYPOOL - Three teen-agers were killed and another injured in a head-on accident Saturday night near Claypool.
According to the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department, a southbound car driven by 18-year-old Jose Sanchez of Gable Drive, Warsaw, veered left of center on Ind. 15 for an unknown reason and struck a northbound car driven by Christopher B. Prater, 17, of North CR 100E, Leesburg.
Sanchez suffered massive head and internal injuries and was transported to Kosciusko Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Prater and a front-seat passenger in his car, Daniel B. Gibson, 16, of North Union Street, Warsaw, were pronounced dead at the scene of the 9:09 p.m. accident on Ind. 15 near the intersection of CR 900S. Both were trapped in the wreckage and suffered massive head and internal injuries. Also trapped in the car was a back-seat passenger, Joe Geib, 15, of Perry Street, Warsaw. He suffered head injuries and a broken leg and was airlifted to Parkview Memorial Hospital, Fort Wayne, where he was listed in serious condition this morning. All three had to be extricated from the car.
None of the people involved in the accident was wearing a seat belt when the collision occurred, police said.
Sheriff Aaron Rovenstine said the area is a straight stretch of roadway that isn't near any of the county's so-called dangerous intersections.
"I have no explanation why this accident happened or why teens are getting killed (in Kosciusko County)," Rovenstine said. "This was a straight road in the middle of nowhere."
No skid marks were made from either vehicle, Rovenstine said, indicating that the accident happened too quickly for either driver to react prior to the impact.
Sanchez's vehicle caught fire after impact and a passerby stopped to extinguish the flames, according to the accident report.
Rovenstine also said there is no evidence that alcohol was a factor in the accident, but blood was drawn from both drivers as is routine in traffic fatalities. The results of the toxicology reports are expected to be available in about a week.
It was noted that Sanchez recently moved to this area from Mexico and was not believed to be a licensed driver. Police have yet to determine the owner of the vehicle Sanchez was driving. The car had an expired temporary license plate on it and did not belong to Sanchez.
Damage to each car is estimated at $10,000 to $25,000.
Assisting at the scene of the accident were personnel from the Claypool and Warsaw fire departments, South Central and Multi-Township emergency medical services, Kosciusko County coroner's office and Indiana State Police.
Saturday's accident brings the total number of people killed in traffic accidents this year to 18, as compared with 15 fatalities this time last year, when 23 total traffic fatalities were recorded. Also, it is the fourth triple-fatality - three of which involved teen-agers - in the county in 14 months.
