WAYNE COUNTY, IND. — UPDATE @ 8 a.m. (July 10):
Four juveniles, all under the age of 16, were identified as the victims killed in a fiery crash on I-70 in Wayne County, Indiana Thursday, according to an updated media release from the Indiana State Police.
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Anesa Noel Acosta, 15, Quintin Michael McGowan, 13, Brekkin Riley Bruce, 8, and Trentin Beau Bruce, 6, were identified early Friday morning as the passengers in the Chevrolet car that were killed in the crash, state police said.
The driver of the car, identified as Aaron Bruce, 34, has an address from Kansas City, Missouri, state police said. Previously, state police said Bruce suffered “severe injuries” in the crash, was pulled from the wreckage by a bystander, and transported to an Indianapolis hospital for treatment.
Corey Withrow, 31, of Camden, identified as the driver of one of the semitrailers involved, was booked into the Wayne County Jail on multiple counts of reckless homicide and operating a vehicle while intoxicated, Wayne County Sheriff Randy Retter said in a media release.
Withrow crashed the semitrailer into the back of the Chevrolet car on I-70 East, sending the car into a second semi that was traveling ahead of the car, investigators said. Both the Chevrolet and the the semitrailer driven by Withrow burst into flames after the crash.
Retter said an initial investigation of the crash found that Withrow was driving erratically and at a high rate of speed while in the construction zone on I-70. However there was no backup in the construction zone.
“Investigators were able to review data as well as other evidence indicating traffic was flowing freely at the time of the crash and were able to rule out any back-up or stopped traffic contributing to the crash,” Retter said.
“Officers investigating the crash suspected Withrow was under the influence of drugs at the time of the crash. Preliminary toxicology reports indicated that Withrow had multiple drugs in his system,” Retter said.
The driver of the second semitrailer, identified as Thomas Flaherty, 57, of Springfield, was not injured in the crash.
We’ll continue to update this story as we learn more.
FIRST REPORT (July 9):
“Multiple fatalities” have been confirmed and two others were injured in a fiery three-vehicle accident Thursday afternoon on I-70 East, Indiana State Police officials said.
The Wayne County Sheriff's Department has launched a criminal investigation because a preliminary investigation indicates that drugs were a contributing factor in the crash.
The number of victims killed, and their identities, were not released by the Indiana State Police.
Emergency units were called just after 5 p.m. Thursday to the crash on I-70 just west of the Cambridge City exit and a construction zone.
Deputies arrived to find a Chevrolet car and semi pulling a loaded box trailer off the left side of I-70 East, fully engulfed in flames.
A 2004 Kenworth tractor pulling the box trailer was headed east in the right lane when a truck came upon traffic that was slowed to merge left for a construction zone.
The Kenworth failed to slow and rear-ended the Chevrolet, which had slowed in the right lane. That impact pushed it into the left rear corner of a semitrailer that was also in the right lane directly in front of the Chevrolet.
The first semi continued pushing the Chevrolet into the left lane and eventually off onto the berm. There, the two vehicles burst into flames.
A passer-by pulled the driver of the Chevrolet out but none of his passengers. The driver of the Chevrolet suffered severe injuries and was taken to a hospital in Indianapolis, investigators said.
The driver of the Kenworth, 31-year-old Corey Withrow of Camden, escaped his burning semi with non-life-threatening injuries. He was taken to Reid Health Hospital in Richmond.
The driver of the second semi, 57-year-old Thomas Flaherty of Springfield, was not injured.
We’ll continue to update this story as we learn more.