Pedestrian killed after being struck by vehicle on I-65 in Southern Indiana

Written from press release

AUSTIN, Ind. — An Indiana man was killed late Sunday after being struck by two vehicles while walking in the southbound lanes of Interstate 65 in Scott County, state police said.

The incident began just after 11:25 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 28, when the driver of a southbound bobtail Volvo semi-tractor called 911 and reported he believed he had hit a pedestrian walking along the fog line near mile marker 35, north of Austin, according to an Indiana State Police news release. The driver pulled to the shoulder and contacted authorities.

Deputies with the Scott County Sheriff’s Department and Jackson County Sheriff’s Department responded and searched the area but initially did not locate anyone, police said.

A short time later, police said, a second crash occurred about a half-mile north of the initial report when a southbound Ford Escape struck a pedestrian who was walking northbound in the driving lane. The driver stopped and called 911, and Indiana State Police troopers from the Sellersburg Post were requested to the scene.

The pedestrian was identified as Bryce Allen Sheaffer, 35, of Seymour. First responders transported Sheaffer to Scott Memorial Hospital in Scottsburg, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

Trooper Tate Rolfing, an Indiana State Police crash reconstructionist, investigated the crash. Preliminary findings indicate the semi-tractor initially grazed Sheaffer, who then continued walking northbound against traffic and entered the driving lane, where he was struck by the passenger vehicle several minutes later, police said.

Neither alcohol nor drugs are suspected as factors for either driver, according to the release. Southbound lanes of I-65 were closed during the investigation and reopened around 4 a.m. Monday, Dec. 29.

The crash remains under investigation by Indiana State Police, and the family has been notified.

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