STEUBEN CO. – At approximately Noon on Monday, officers from the Indiana State Police Toll Road, Fort Wayne Post, and the Steuben County Sheriff’s Department responded to a vehicle crash on I-80/90 near the 143mm, which is just west of I-69 in Steuben County.
Once on scene, initial arriving officers found a Buick LaCrosse passenger car and a Dodge Ram pickup truck, both with heavy front-end damage blocking the eastbound lanes.
The driver (sole occupant) of the Buick LaCrosse, later identified as Jesse Charles Cox, 33, from Chicago, Illinois, was found to be unresponsive and appeared fatally injured. A nurse that was passing by stopped to aid officers in rendering medical assistance, but efforts were unsuccessful. Mr. Cox was pronounced dead at the scene by the Steuben County Coroner.
The driver of the Dodge Ram pickup truck, Ryan Fox, 44, from Streetsboro, Ohio, and passenger, Kevin Weisenberg, 40, from Pepper Pike, Ohio, although injured, they were both alert and able to speak with officers. Both men were transported from the scene by ambulance to a Fort Wayne hospital for treatment.
Master Trooper Anthony Lomonaco’s preliminary crash investigation found that prior to the crash, the Buick LaCrosse was traveling west on I-80/90. For an unknown reason, the Buick veered off the traveled portion of the westbound lanes towards the median, crossed through the grass median, entered the eastbound lanes of traffic, and then crashed head-on into the Dodge Ram truck.
M/Trooper Lomonaco stated that “neither alcohol nor drugs were suspected at this time, but as required by state law, both drivers were subject to chemical testing.” The results of those chemical tests will typically not be available for several weeks. Lomonaco estimated that vehicle speed combined with the wet road surface conditions was the likely cause for the initial loss of control. Cox was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, however, both Fox and Weisenberg were properly restrained.
As a result of the crash, the eastbound lanes of I-80/90 had to be shut down at the 143-mile marker for approximately two hours. Eastbound traffic was diverted off of the Toll Road at the State Road 9 (Howe/Sturgis) exit during the shutdown to reduce the lengthy traffic backup. At approximately 2:30 p.m. all lanes of travel were reopened.
The Steuben County Coroner’s Office has made a notification to the Cox family.
This remains an ongoing investigation by the Indiana State Police. There is no further information to release at this time.
Assisting M/Trooper Lomonaco at the scene were troopers from the ISP Toll Road Post and the Fort Wayne Post, the Steuben County Sheriff’s Department, Fremont Fire Department, Steuben County Coroner’s Office, Toll Road Maintenance personnel, and Bill’s Towing Service.
