SYRACUSE - A Syracuse man is dead and a Mentone man is in jail following a Saturday afternoon altercation between friends near Dewart Lake.
Brad Dean Wetzel, 40, Syracuse, was pronounced dead at Kosciusko Community Hospital after he was crushed by a truck driven by Marc Alan Greene, 41, Mentone.According to the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department, around 3:47 p.m. Saturday, deputies responded to a 911 call about a person being hit by a vehicle near EMS 18 Lane, just north of DeFreese Road, Syracuse.
When Kosciusko County Sheriff's Deputy Shane Bucher and EMS personnel arrived, Wetzel was standing near his car. Witnesses said they saw a car and a truck stop in the roadway, pointing toward each other, and then Greene and Wetzel began to argue while standing between the two vehicles.
Greene reportedly got back in his truck and hit Wetzel as he was between the front of both vehicles. Greene then allegedly fled the scene and went to his residence at 4360 S. CR 1000W, Mentone, where Sgt. Jeff Shaw and Deputy Jeff Howie of the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department took him into custody without incident.
Although the Samaritan Air Ambulance was called from Fort Wayne, Wetzel was pronounced dead when he arrived at Kosciusko Community Hospital, Warsaw.
Greene was booked into the Kosciusko County Jail at 7:40 p.m. Saturday on charges of driving while intoxicated causing death and reckless homicide. He is being held without bond.
According to information given to Kosciusko County Detective Josh Spangle, Wetzel and Greene had been "best friends," but their relationship had deteriorated.
Wetzel's cause of death is still under investigation by the Kosciusko County Coroner's Office, pending an autopsy at St. Joseph Hospital, Fort Wayne. The incident also remains under investigation by the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department and the Kosciusko County crash investigation team.
The Syracuse EMS and fire departments and the Kosciusko County Coroner's Office assisted the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department with this incident.
