LIBERTY, Ind. – A head-on collision on Wednesday, Dec. 5, on Indiana 44 claimed the life of a Connersville woman and led to the road being closed for hours.
The Union County Sheriff’s Department was notified of the crash on Indiana 44, just west of Liberty in the area west of Hoffman Road, around 6:30 a.m.
After deputies arrived and assessed the scene, Indiana State Police Trooper Aaron Edwards was summoned to the scene, along with Crash Reconstruction Investigators Trooper Scott Keegan and Trooper Coley McCutcheon.
A press release from ISP Public Information Officer Sgt. John Bowling said an early investigation shows an Indy Airport 2019 Dodge taxi van, driven by Aderaw Adugna Workie, 40, of Indianapolis, was eastbound on Indiana 44 when the driver lost control of his vehicle on the icy roadway.
The taxi van drove left of center into the westbound lane, hitting a state-owned 2017 Ford Expedition head-on that was being driven by on-duty State Fire Marshal Ross A. Keasling, 48, of Liberty.
Both vehicles ended up in the north-side ditch after the crash. Neither driver was injured, however a back-seat passenger in the taxi, Carrie A. Carter, 44, of Connersville, succumbed to the injuries she received in the crash. It is unknown if she was wearing a safety belt at the time of the crash, as the investigation remains ongoing.
The crash had Indiana 44 west of Liberty closed for nearly four hours as troopers conducted their investigation.
Troopers Edwards, Keegan and McCutcheon were assisted in their investigation by Sergeant Metcalfe, and Troopers Dan Jones, Scott McPheeters and Eric Thumb as well as Investigator Andrew Wandersee; Union County Sheriff’s Department, Liberty Police Department and Union County Fire Department.