Staff Reports
AUSTIN — Indiana State Police arrested a Jennings County man on a charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing death after a two-vehicle accident on I-65 near Austin on Saturday.
At approximately 11:55 p.m., troopers, along with first responders from seven assisting agencies, responded to reports of a crash in the northbound lane of I-65 near the 33 mile marker, said Sgt. Stephen Wheeles, Indiana State Police spokesman.
The initial investigation by the Indiana State Police-Sellersburg Crash Reconstruction Team indicated that a 2013 Dodge Avenger being driven by Cooper A. Hensley, 24, Paris Crossing, was exceeding the speed limit when it collided with a 2006 Ford F-250 being driven by Scotty R. Hoosier, 47, Altamont, Tennessee.
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The force of the initial collision caused Hoosier’s vehicle to leave the east side of the roadway, where it collided with a tree before coming to a rest, Wheeles said. Hensley’s vehicle entered the median of I-65 and struck the median cable barrier and overturned, he said.
Hoosier sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced deceased at the scene by the Scott County Coroner’s Office. Two passengers in Hoosier’s vehicle were transported to University of Louisville Hospital for treatment of serious injuries and Hensley was uninjured in the crash, Wheeles said.
Officers located drug paraphernalia in Hensley’s possession, and further investigation indicated that Hensley showed signs of being intoxicated at the scene of the crash, Wheeles said.
A search warrant was obtained for Hensley’s blood to conduct toxicology testing, and those results are pending, Wheeles said.
Hensley was transported to the Scott County Jail where he was still being held as of Monday, according to jail officials.
Assisting at the scene: Scott County Sheriff’s Department, Scottsburg Police Department, Austin Police Department, Scottsburg Fire Department, Jennings Township Fire Department, Scott County EMS, and the Scott County Coroner’s Office.
