A Merrillville woman who was on track to graduate from the University of Louisville medical school this spring died in a two-vehicle accident on Interstate 65 near Columbus.
Ashley P. Hinchen, 27, was pronounced dead at the scene of the 6:30 p.m. accident Sunday in the southbound lanes of Interstate 65 about four miles south of the Walesboro exit, said Larry Fisher, Bartholomew County coroner.
Hinchen died from multiple trauma to the neck and chest, Fisher said. It did not appear she was wearing a seat belt when the accident occurred, he said.
According to deputies with the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, Hinchen’s vehicle went off the roadway for an unknown reason, then went back onto the highway and stopped with the car still partially in the right lane, where it was struck by a southbound van.
The van was driven by Jonathon Achterhof, 35, of Holland, Michigan, according to the sheriff’s department. There was no information available about Achterhof or whether he was injured.
Jill Scoggins, who works in the medical school in Louisville, said Hinchen would have found out on national Match Day in March where she would be assigned to do her residency.
She was scheduled to graduate from the medical school in May, according to school records.
