MENTONE – An Akron man died after his pickup got stuck on the railroad tracks and was hit by a train in Mentone Wednesday, according to a press release from the Kosciusko County Fatal?Alcohol Crash Team. Kosciusko County deputy coroner Michael Wilson this morning identified the crash victim as Joseph A. Kimmel, 40, Akron. Wilson stated Kimmel “appears to have died from blunt force trauma,” the release states. A preliminary investigation of the crash by the Kosciusko FACT reconstructionist determined that at about 7:24 p.m., Kimmel’s pickup was on Ind. 25 when Kimmel attempted to turn south onto Ind. 19. His truck went off the paved portion of the crossing and became stuck on the train track rails. An eastbound Norfolk Southern freight train then struck the pickup. Kimmel was declared dead at the scene by the Kosciusko County Coroner’s Office, according to the release. Mentone Police, Mentone Fire, Mentone/Four-Way?EMS, Parkview EMS and the Kosciusko?County Sheriff’s Department responded to the scene.
