Four children dead in Indiana in 'tragic' highway crash involving intoxicated semi driver
CAMBRIDGE CITY, Ind. — Four children were killed Thursday when the car in which they were riding on Interstate 70 was struck by a semi-tractor-trailer and caught fire.
Those killed were Anesa Noel Acosta, 15; Quintin Michael McGowan, 13; Brekkin Riley Bruce, 8; and Trentin Beau Bruce, 6, according to the Indiana State Police in a news release. They were all siblings.
A passerby pulled the 2020 Chevrolet Malibu's driver, Aaron Bruce, 34, of Kansas City, Missouri, out of his vehicle, according to the release. A medical helicopter flew the severely injured driver to Eskenazi Hospital in Indianapolis. He remains in critical condition in the burn unit, according to Sheriff Randy Retter.
None of the Chevrolet's passengers — the four children — was able to escape the car, the release said. Firefighters from Cambridge City, Greens Fork and Hagerstown responded to extinguish the fire.
"It was a tough scene. It was very tough," Sgt. John Bowling of the Indiana State Police said. "It can be emotionally draining on first responders when you're on a scene as trying as that one. Any loss of life is tragic, but it's especially hard when it's children."
The driver of a Kenworth truck failed to slow for the construction zone and crashed into a Chevrolet passenger car, police said.
The truck pushed the car into the rear of another semi tractor-trailer, then pushed the car off the left lane onto a berm where both vehicles burst into flames, police said.
The driver of a 2004 Kenworth truck, Corey Withrow, 31, of Camden, Ohio, escaped his burning truck and was taken to Reid Health with non-life-threatening injuries, the release said. A Wayne County Sheriff's Office investigation indicates drugs were a contributing factor in the accident, and Withrow was booked about 1:20 a.m. Friday at the Wayne County Jail after his treatment at Reid.
He is preliminarily charged with four counts of felony reckless homicide, four counts felony operating while intoxicated causing death and one felony count of operating while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury, according to a news release from Retter.
The accident occurred as Withrow was eastbound pulling a loaded box trailer in the right lane. According to Bowling, Withrow came upon traffic that was slowed but moving as it merged left where a construction zone west of the Indiana 1 interchange funneled traffic to one lane. Withrow failed to slow his Kenworth and struck the rear of the slowed Chevrolet.
Withrow was driving erratically and at high speed prior to the accident, according to the sheriff's department release. Preliminary toxicology reports indicated that Withrow had multiple drugs in his system.
The Kenworth pushed the Chevrolet into the left rear corner of another semi pulling tandem trailers that also was slowed to merge, the state police release said. The second of the tandem trailers was ripped off its axle as the Kenworth continued pushing the Chevrolet through the left lane and into the median, where both vehicles caught fire.
The driver of the second truck, Thomas Flaherty, 57, of Springfield, Ohio, was not injured.
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