CUMBERLAND — A New Palestine man died Thursday afternoon, Dec. 3, of injuries suffered earlier in the afternoon in a collision on U.S. 40 in western Hancock County.
Jeffrey Denton, 64, was driving westbound just east of Carroll Road when he apparently drove his vehicle across the center line into the path of an eastbound SUV, according to a news release from the Indiana State Police. The force of the collision upended the SUV, which wound up on its top. Denton’s vehicle continued across the eastbound lanes and into a deep ditch on the south side of U.S. 40, the news release said.
Denton was pronounced dead after being transported to a hospital. Two people in the SUV suffered minor injuries and also were taken to a hospital, the news release said.
The accident happened at 1:25 p.m. The eastbound lanes of U.S. 40 were closed until 4 p.m. while Indiana State Police crash reconstructionists investigated.
The state police superintendent, Doug Carter, who was driving in the area, came upon the crash and called for help, the news release said. He rendered aid to the victims until medics arrived.
The crash remains under investigation. The Hancock County Sheriff’s Department, Cumberland Police Department and the Sugar Creek Township Fire Department assisted in the response.
