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A Celina man was killed Tuesday night on State Route 707 when his vehicle crossed the center line into the path of a semitrailer.
BLACKCREEK TOWNSHIP - A 47-year-old Celina man was killed Tuesday evening after driving left of center into the path of a semitrailer on State Route 707 in northwest Mercer County.
Anthony Cole was pronounced dead at the scene in Blackcreek Township, marking the first county traffic fatality of the year, according to a news release from Mercer County Sheriff Doug Timmerman.
The semitrailer driver, Todd Lotter, 56, of Berne, Indiana, was not injured, Timmerman told The Daily Standard.
Mercer County Dispatch received a 911 call at 5:49 p.m. of a traffic crash on State Route 707, west of Wabash Road.
Cole was driving a 2011 gray Chevrolet passenger van eastbound on State Route 707. Lotter was driving a 2015 blue Peterbilt semitrailer westbound on State Route 707.
For an unknown reason, Cole traveled left of center, striking the semitrailer. Neither vehicle was carrying any passengers, and weather was not a factor in the accident, Timmerman said.
Also, drugs and/or alcohol are not suspected but, per protocol, testing will be administered.
Multiple deputy cruisers from the sheriff's office and fire vehicles lined the side of State Route 707 after the accident, their flashing red and blue lights illuminating snow-covered fields on a frigidly cold Tuesday evening.
The crash remains under investigation and will be forwarded to the county prosecutor's office for review, according to the release.
The sheriff's office was assisted by the Rockford Fire Department, Chattanooga Fire Department, Rockford Emergency Medical Services and Mercer County Emergency Response Volunteers.
