Crash Kills Five

BOURBON - Five people were killed and one critically injured in a two-vehicle accident early Tuesday morning at the intersection of U.S. 30 and Fir Road, near Bourbon. Speed and alcohol are believed to be factors.

Pronounced dead at the scene were: brothers Joe Castelucci, 19, and Josh Castelucci, 16; Andrew C. Hickey, 16; and Jerry Boyer, 17, all of Bremen; and Jared A. Brandl, 23, of Nappanee. Brandl became a first-time father a week ago. The lone survivor, Justin Quenan, 16, of Bremen, is in critical condition after undergoing emergency surgery at Memorial Hospital, South Bend. Quenan suffered a broken leg, head injuries and a collapsed lung.

According to reports, the wreck occurred about 2 a.m. Tuesday when the pickup, southbound on Fir Road, disregarded a stop sign at the intersection with U.S. 30 and struck the second of two 28-foot trailers being hauled by the semi involved in the accident. The pickup struck the middle of the second trailer and went underneath it. During the accident, the rear axle of the second trailer was knocked off.

The pickup was registered to Brandl, but police were not able to confirm that he was the driver.

Authorities were working to determine where the group had been and where they were going when the accident occurred. The six were together at the Bremen Firemen's Festival earlier in the evening.

According to the Marshall County Sheriff's Department, high speed and alcohol contributed to the cause of the crash; investigators believe all six people in the pickup had been drinking.

Officials said Quenan, Boyer and Josh Castelucci were thrown from the pickup and landed in or near the median of U.S. 30. It is not known where they were seated prior to the accident.

Hickey was found in the bed of the pickup and Joe Castelucci and Brandl were found in the truck cab.

The driver of the semi tractor/trailer, Jason P. Huff, 28, of Wauconda, Ill., was not injured.

Police said there were no pre-collision skid marks to indicate that either vehicle attempted to slow or stop before the accident occurred. Brandl's pickup came to rest 111 feet from the estimated point of impact.

The exact cause of the accident is still under investigation.

Three other people died in holiday traffic accidents in Indiana.

In Daviess County, two people were killed and three others injured in a pair of accidents Tuesday morning.

The first took the life of 68-year-old Ray M. Allbright of Shoals.

Allbright was eastbound on U.S. 50 near Montgomery when he slowed to turn into a driveway. His vehicle was struck from behind by a pickup truck driven by Jonathon M. Culbertson, 18, of Huntingburg.

The truck went on top of Allbright's car and pushed it off the road and down an embankment, where it crashed into a utility pole, police said.

The truck then went through a ditch and struck a tree.

Culbertson and a passenger were treated for minor injuries. He was ticketed for driving too fast to avoid a collision and driving with a suspended license.

Allbright, who was wearing a seat belt, was pronounced dead at the scene of the 8:16 a.m. crash.

Less than three hours later, another accident killed a Paoli teen-ager.

Aron R. Roach, 17, died when a pickup truck he was driving ran off a road near Alfordsville, struck a utility pole and overturned. Roach and a 16-year-old passenger were not wearing seat belts and were thrown from the truck. His passenger suffered head and chest injuries, police said.

A Minnesota family's car overturned in Hobart, killing Andris Lachkaya, 21, of Shakopee, Minn.

Lachkaya's mother was westbound on I-94, when she swerved to take an exit she had almost missed. The vehicle overturned after she lost control.

Andris Lachkaya, along with a sister and his father, were thrown from the car. None of the three were wearing seat belts, police said.

His death was the fourth fatality on the Indiana Toll Road in less than a week.