Two separate crashes in two days have left three people dead in Jackson County this week, police report.
The most recent one — involving a collision between an SUV and a semitrailer — was reported at 5:11 p.m. Thursday in Hamilton Township.
That’s when the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department received a 911 call about a wreck with serious injuries at County Road 100E and County Road 600N.
Upon arrival of first responders, it was determined three passengers in a 2023 Ford Expedition driven by Kimberly Sullivan, 45, of Brownstown sustained injuries. The three were Addi Sullivan, 12, and Archer Sullivan, 9, both of Brownstown, and Elijah Sullivan, 6, of Freetown, according to a news release from Sheriff Rick Meyer.
Elijah Sullivan was in critical condition with life-threatening injuries, and CPR was being performed when county officers arrived, Meyer reported.
Elijah was transported to Schneck Medical Center in Seymour, where he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead by an official with the Jackson County Coroner’s Office.
Archer Sullivan was treated by personnel with Jackson County Emergency Medical Services and Hamilton Township Volunteer Fire Department. He was then flown to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis by IU Health LifeLine, where he remains in serious condition.
Addi Sullivan was treated at the scene before being transported to Schneck.
Kimberly Sullivan and the driver of the 2013 Freightliner, James Mattingly, 52, of Hardinsburg, both declined medical treatment but consented to toxicology tests, police said. The results are pending.
Meyer said the initial investigation shows Kimberly Sullivan was driving east on County Road 600N at County Road 100E when the collision occurred with Mattingly’s semitrailer, which was traveling north on County Road 100E.
The Expedition left the north side of County Road 100E and came to rest in a field, while the Freightliner went off the east side of County Road 600N, where it struck a Jackson County REMC utility pole, leading to a power outage.
An Indiana State Police crash reconstructionist and an ISP commercial vehicle inspector were called to the scene. The crash investigation is ongoing.
Personnel with Jackson County REMC, Morrison Auto Tech and Salem Wrecker also assisted at the scene.
Officers with the sheriff’s department also are investigating a crash that left two people dead and a third hospitalized Wednesday in the 2200 block of East U.S. 50 in Jackson County.
Trawuan Litzlbauer, 20, of Indianapolis and Stanley Baughman Jr., 67, of Medora were pronounced dead at the scene by an official with the Jackson County Coroner’s Office, according to a news release issued Thursday by Meyer.
After being treated by medical personnel with Jackson County EMS, Charles Callahan, 43, of Seymour was flown to University of Louisville Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky, for treatment of injuries he sustained in the wreck reported to Jackson County dispatch at noon.
Meyer reported the initial investigation shows Litzlbauer was driving a white 2007 Hyundai Sonata west on U.S. 50 at the top of Crane Hill northeast of Brownstown shortly before noon when the crash with a white 2005 Chevrolet pickup truck being driven east on U.S. 50 by Callahan occurred, Meyer reported.
Baughman was a passenger in Litzlbauer’s vehicle.
U.S. 50 was closed for about two hours as an ISP crash reconstruction team was called to the scene to assist with the investigation, which is ongoing, Meyer said.
Personnel with Brownstown Fire Department, Brownstown Police Department and Indiana Conservation Officers assisted with the investigation and traffic control.