A man has been arrested after a Richmond couple was injured and a Liberty man died when the trio’s vehicle was struck and went off the road into a wooden embankment.
Just after 10:15 p.m. Saturday, Indiana State Police troopers were dispatched to a serious crash on U.S. 27 just north of Liberty.
First responders located a gray 2013 Subaru BRZ with heavy front-end damage and an inverted gray Lexus RX350 off the roadway, down the embankment.
When medical personnel made their way down to the Lexus, they located its driver, Anthony J. Talbert, 61, and his wife, Donna M. Talbert, 66, both of Richmond.
Donna Talbert was flown to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio, by Care Flight for medical treatment, and Anthony Talbert was transported by ambulance to Reid Health in Richmond. Police determined that the Talberts were wearing their seatbelts before the crash.
However, a backseat passenger identified as David A. Marshall Jr., 37, of Liberty, was pronounced dead at the scene by Union County Coroner Rob Leavitt. Police determined that Marshall was not wearing a seatbelt.
In its preliminary investigation, Indiana State Police Crash Reconstruction Team determined the Subaru was traveling at a high rate of speed before colliding with the rear of the Lexus, the release said.
After the collision, the Lexus traveled off the roadway and struck a guardrail before going airborne into a wooded area, colliding head-on with a tree, and coming to rest on its roof.
Police said the Subaru’s driver was located near the crash scene and identified as Brock A. Robinson, 22, of Richmond, according to a news release from ISP’s new public information officer, Sgt. Scott Keegan. Robinson was uninjured.
When Trooper Jacob Ridgeway questioned Robinson about the crash, Ridgeway reported that Robinson displayed signs of impairment and an odor of alcohol, the release said. Ridgeway transported Robinson to Reid Health to submit to a chemical test per the Indiana Implied Consent Law.
Robinson has preliminarily been charged with operating while intoxicated causing death and leaving the scene of a fatality crash, both Level 4 felonies; and reckless driving causing death, a Level 5 felony. Robinson was held Sunday in the Union County Jail.
U.S. 27 was closed for approximately 6 hours while the crash was being investigated.