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OSWEGO - Two of the three people injured and one who was killed were not wearing seat belts when they were involved in a two-vehicle accident Wednesday morning near Oswego.
According to an Indiana State Police report, use of a seat belt could have prevented the death of 20-year-old Amanda Harter of Columbia City and reduced the severity of injuries to two men in another vehicle.
Harter was a passenger in a car driven by Scott Breyfogle, 33, of West Section Street, Milford, when the eastbound car crossed the center line and struck a westbound pickup head-on at 7 a.m. Wednesday on Armstrong Road, west of Oswego. Police said wet blacktop contributed to the accident.
Harter suffered massive injuries and died instantly, according to a press release. Breyfogle suffered head injuries and was treated at Kosciusko Community Hospital and released. He was wearing a seat belt and its use reduced the severity of Breyfogle's injuries, police said.
The driver of the pickup, Jerry Fugate, 48, of East Channel Road, Warsaw, suffered chest pain and was treated at KCH and released. A passenger in Fugate's vehicle, Stanley Salyer, 25, of North Webster, suffered a broken arm and a broken ankle. He was admitted to KCH, where he was listed in stable condition this morning. Both men could have had lesser injuries if they had been wearing seat belts, according to Indiana State Police.
