Emergency crews in Montgomery County are investigating a deadly crash on Interstate 74 near Crawfordsville.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Ind. (WTHR) — Police have released the names of the people who died in Monday's fatal crash on Interstate 74 in Montgomery County near Crawfordsville.
Colton J. Watkins, 25, of Council Bluffs, Iowa was driving a 1997 Ford Expedition westbound on the interstate when he lost control and crossed the median on the US 231 overpass. Watkins slid into the path of Rick Louis Bechman, who was driving a 2018 Chevrolet EXP truck in the eastbound lanes of I-74.
Bechman t-boned Watkins' car on the driver's side. Watkins' back seat passenger, 27-year-old Nathan Thomas King of Sumerville, Alabama was pronounced dead at the scene. Watkins later died at the hospital. A passenger in the front seat, 19-year-old Jarea Michelle Davis Thrower, went to the hospital with serious injuries. Police say neither Watkins nor his passengers were wearing seat belts.
Bechman had to be pulled from his truck after being pinned inside, then taken to a hospital in Indianapolis for treatment for his injuries. The extent of his injuries was not shared. Police say Bechman was wearing a seat belt.
Around 1 a.m. Tuesday, police discovered the Expedition Watkins was driving had been reported stolen out of Huntsville, Alabama on Feb. 16.
The crash closed the interstate for about three hours.
