MENTONE – Jordan Anthony Shafer, a Rochester teen, lost his life in a car crash around 11 a.m. Wednesday after being ejected nearly 40 feet from a vehicle after it ran off the road. Kosciusko County Fatal Alcohol Crash Team members stated that a preliminary investigation into the crash determined that Shafer, 18, and his passenger, Cole Allen Dowd, 19, Mentone, had been traveling east on CR 500S when his vehicle went off the south edge of the roadway. Shafer lost control of the vehicle and it began to roll on the gravel surface, ejecting him approximately 40 feet into a tree-line area. Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Dept. deputies and emergency personnel located Dowd and Shafer near the crash of a silver Ford Taurus. Dowd was transported to Lutheran Hospital, Fort Wayne, in serious condition with various injuries, but has been released as of this morning. Shafer died from blunt force trauma injuries, according to Kosciusko County Coroner Michael Wilson. Officers stated that the crash is under investigation. Kosciusko County FACT was assisted at the scene by members of the Mentone Fire Department, Mentone EMS, Mentone Police Department and the KCSD.
