A young girl died after wandering from her home onto State Road 3 in Westport and into the path of an oncoming vehicle, police said.
Lena J. Snowden, 2, of Westport, was killed in the 9 p.m. Monday accident, said Sgt. Stephen Wheeles, Indiana State Police public information officer.
She was pronounced dead at the scene by the Decatur County Coroner’s Office, Wheeles said.
The girl died instantly, but an official cause of death is pending toxicology results on the girl, Coroner Doug Banks said.
Lena was the daughter of Jacob Neal Snowden and Jennifer Lynn Elgar, the coroner said. Both were on the scene after the accident, Wheeles said.
A 2007 Chevrolet pickup truck driven by David C. Vanderbur, 45, of Greensburg, was traveling northbound on State Road 3, approaching Main Street in Westport, according to an initial investigation by Trooper Jacob Tolle and the State Police-Versailles District Crash Reconstruction Team.
The girl entered onto State Road 3 from Pine Lake Apartments, where she lived, into the path of Vanderbur’s vehicle, and the driver was unable to avoid striking her, Wheeles said.
Snowden sustained fatal injuries in the crash while Vanderbur was not injured, he said.
Drugs and alcohol are not believed to be factors in the crash, but toxicology results on Vanderbur are pending and the investigation is ongoing, Wheeles said.
As is typical with the death of a child, the Indiana Department of Child Services was called in to assist, Wheeles said.
State Road 3 through Westport was closed Monday night for about two hours during the crash investigation and cleanup.
Tolle was assisted by troopers with the Indiana State Police Versailles Post, the Decatur County Sheriff’s Department, Westport Police Department, Westport Fire Department, Decatur County EMS and the Decatur County Coroner’s Office.
Jewell-Rittman Family Funeral Home in Columbus is handling the arrangements, but details are incomplete.
