Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
CROMWELL -ÊA New Paris teen is dead after a Sunday morning accident near the Tri-County Fish and Game Reserve.
Thomas M. Hoopingarner, 17, of 68441 Jefferson St., New Paris, was pronounced dead after car was found submerged, upside down in a pond near the intersection of CRs 1200W and 75N in Noble County.
When Hoopingarner's 1987 Honda Civic was found, it was partially submerged, and ice surrounded the vehicle. Members of the Sparta Township Fire Department put a boat in the water and chipped ice away to get to the car.
Once the vehicle was pulled to dry land, Hoopingarner's body was found inside the car, still strapped in his seatbelt.
Investigators believe Hoopingarner was driving southbound on CR 1200W around 5:57 a.m. Sunday when his car left the road, then hit a ditch and a tree. They believe the momentum from the collision caused the vehicle to flip on its top and land in the water.
An autopsy will be performed to determine Hoopingarner's time of death.
The Syracuse and Cromwell fire departments, Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department, Department of Natural Resources, Noble County EMS and the Noble County Coroner's Office assisted the Noble County Sheriff's Department at the scene of the accident.
