A 21-year-old man who was airlifted to a regional hospital Monday evening after his car was involved in a collision with a train has died, police report.
Dawson A. Vest of Austin was pronounced dead by an official with the Jefferson County, Kentucky, Coroner’s Office, at a Louisville hospital shortly after 1 a.m. Tuesday, according to a news release from Sgt. Stephen Wheeles with the Indiana State Police.
Vest was flown by a PHI air ambulance to a hospital in Louisville after the wreck reported at 6:30 p.m. on County Road 775S just west of U.S. 31 near the Jackson County line with Scott County, said Wheeles, who is the public information officer for the Versailles Post.
He said the initial investigation by crash reconstructionists with the post indicated Vest had been driving a black 2018 Nissan passenger car west on County Road 775S when the vehicle entered a railroad crossing into the path of a northbound CSX train.
Vest was thrown from his vehicle after it overturned from the impact, Wheeles said.
The crossing includes railroad crossing signs and stop signs for traffic on County Road 775S, which was closed for about three hours for crash cleanup and investigation. U.S. 31 also was briefly closed during the investigation, which is ongoing.
Officers with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department and Crothersville Police Department assisted at the scene along with personnel with Jackson County Emergency Medical Services, Scott County Emergency Medical Services, Westside Towing, CSX and Louisville and Indiana Railroad.