One injured in 2-vehicle crash on SR 43

WHITE COUNTY, Ind. (WLFI) - A two-vehicle accident took place on State Road 43 North at the Tippecanoe County/White County line shortly after 1:00 p.m.

Police's preliminary investigation suggests that the accident began when a southbound pickup driven by 20-year-old Skye Davis of Lafayette swerved off the west side of SR 43. Davis then swerved back onto the raod and crossed the center line into the northbound lanes.  Davis's vehicle then struck another pickup, this one traveling northbound and driven by 49-year-old Gregory Lower of Star City, Indiana.

Lower's vehicle went off the road on the east side of the highway and into a ditch, where it rolled over.

When police arrived they found that Lower's pickup had caught fire. Fortunately a passing motorist was able to extinguish this fire with a small extinguisher.

Lower was transported from the scene by a Tippecanoe County Ambulance for a head laceration he suffered during the crash. Lower was wearing a seatbelt and his airbags did deploy, which served to lessen the serverity of the injuries he suffered. Lower was still awaiting assessment by a doctor at St. Elizabeth as of 4:00 p.m.

Davis was not injured in the incident.

Sergeant Dan Ziegler, the investigating officer of the crash said that the accident was a good reminder of why motorists should always wear their seatbelts.

“You never know when something will happen and it won’t help you to put it on after the fact,” Ziegler said.

State Road 43's northbound lanes were closed for approximately an hour and a half following the crash.