HANCOCK COUNTY — A Carthage man on his way home from work died Tuesday, April 6, after the motorcycle he was riding collided with a car on Mt. Comfort Road.
Guy David Washburn, 27, Carthage, was southbound about 3:45 p.m. near the intersection of County Road 900N when another vehicle apparently turned into his path, investigators said. He was airlifted to St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis but died shortly thereafter.
Washburn, the father of three small children, ages 4, 3 and 9 months, was returing home from his job as a carpenter when the accident occurred, his mother, Danita K. Washburn, said.
“I just told him on Sunday I didn’t want him riding that motorcycle to work because the roads are so busy with people rushing around,” she said. “But, even if he had been in his truck, I still believe something would have happened to him.”
Guy Washburn was engaged to be married this summer to the mother of his children, Ruby Chew, his mother said. He was planning on remodeling his mom’s former house, across the street from her in Carthage, for his family to live in after the wedding.
In lieu of flowers, the family has set up a bank account for Guy Washburn’s children and Chew so that work can be completed. Anyone wishing to donate can visit or send checks to the First Merchants Bank, 22 N. Jefferson St., Knightstown, IN 46148. Officials there will make sure the money goes to the account earmarked for Washburn’s fiancee and his children.
“We don’t care if people donate money, their time or supplies,” Danita Washburn said. “We just want to get the kids into a forever home. We want them to have a place to live with no rent.”
Guy Washburn, a Knightstown High School graduate, was Danita’s only son and a good man, she said. He loved to cook out and spend time with his friends and family.
“He loved his babies so much,” Danita Washburn said of his children. “They look so much like him.”
Capt. Robert Harris, public information officer for the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department, said the juvenile driver of a northbound 2017 Jeep Patriot apparently turned into the path of Washburn’s 2002 Suzuki motorcycle at County Road 900N just before the collision.
The drivers were the only people involved in the crash. The driver of the Jeep was not injured and has cooperated with police, submitting to a chemical test due to the serious nature of the crash, Harris said.
The name of the driver of the Jeep is not being released since the person is a juvenile. Drugs and alcohol do not appear to be a factor, but the investigation is ongoing, Harris said.
The intersection of Mt. Comfort Road and 900N was closed for approximately 2½ hours while officers from the McCordsville Police Department and the Hancock County Fatal Accident Crash Team investigated. Officers from the Fortville Police Department and New Palestine Police Department, as well as fire and medical personnel from Buck Creek Township and Vernon Township fire departments assisted with the crash.
