Wayne County – Last night shortly after 10:25 p.m. Pendleton units responded to report of a serious crash on Thornburg Road in northwest Wayne County.  Troopers Nick Razor and Eric Freeman arrived to find a Mini Cooper on its side crashed into a house.

The preliminary investigation revealed the car was southbound at a high rate of speed on Thornburg Road, about a ½ mile south of Randolph County Line Road, when it went airborne over a rise in the road.  When the car came down the driver lost control and the car ran off the right side of the road striking a large rock.

After striking the rock the car was launched through the air approximately 81 feet striking a tree before coming to rest on its side against a home at 11292 Thornburg Road.  The driver, who was not wearing a safety belt, was ejected from the car and pronounced dead at the scene.

Killed was Ryan M. King, age 23, of Modoc.  No one in the home was injured. Troopers at the scene were assisted by the Wayne and Randolph County Sheriff’s Departments, Economy Volunteer Fire Department and other Wayne County EMS units.

According to the fatal crash statistics for April, most fatal crashes in Indiana occur between 2p.m. and 10 p.m. with the leading causes of fatal crashes being running off the road on the right, followed by failure to yield, then unsafe speed. Remember, wearing safety belts can reduce the risk of injury in a crash by fifty percent.