CROTHERSVILLE — An Austin man was critically injured when he lost control of his vehicle shortly after noon Saturday on an icy road, crashed through an overpass guardrail and fell onto Interstate 65 in Jackson County, police said.
A 2002 Chevrolet Trailblazer, driven by Richard T. Coulter, 37, of Austin, was traveling westbound on County Road 600 South on an overpass over I-65 in Crothersville, said Sgt. Stephen Wheeles, public information officer with the Indiana State Police Versailles post.
The initial investigation by State Police Sgt. Brian Wilson indicated that Coulter’s vehicle broke through the metal guardrail on the south side of the road and fell into the northbound lanes of I-65 at the 37.5-mile marker, Wheeles said.
Coulter’s vehicle struck a 2014 Toyota SUV, driven by Charles G. Jahnke, 56, of Green Bay, Wisconsin, that was northbound on I-65, Wheeles said.
Coulter’s vehicle came to rest on its driver’s side in the middle of the northbound lanes of I-65, while Jahnke’s vehicle came to rest on the shoulder of I-65, he said.
Coulter, trapped inside the vehicle, had to be extricated by the Vernon Township Fire Department, Wheeles said. Coulter was transported to an Indianapolis area hospital with critical injuries, although Jahnke was not injured in the crash, Wheeles said.
The roadway surface condition, which was icy at the time, is believed to be a factor in the crash.
Read more in Sunday’s print edition of The Republic.
