(Photo by Alyssa Richardson)

Two individuals are dead after a fiery crash this afternoon in Kosciusko County.

Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department deputies and emergency personnel responded this afternoon to a reported three-vehicle crash at the intersection of U.S. 30 and State Road 19. Officers from Bourbon Police Department were the first to arrive and discovered one of the vehicles was fully engulfed, with an individual ejected. Firefighters from Etna Green arrived and extinguished the fire, only to discover a seconded burned individual inside an unknown-make pickup truck.

Accident reconstructionist from the Kosciusko County F.A.C.T./Fatal Crash Team, comprising of Warsaw Police and Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Deputies, were summoned to the scene, along with a reconstructionist from the Indiana State Police. A preliminarily investigation by officers has determined that a semi-tractor/trailer driven by Adam J. King, 34, Lima, Ohio, was eastbound on U.S. 30 approaching the intersection of State Road 19. King, for an undetermined reason, struck the rear-end of the fatality vehicle which was stopped for a red traffic light in the same, eastbound driving lane. The semi-tractor trailer and fatal pickup continued forward, striking a gray, GMC Sierra pickup truck that was being driven by Larry L. Nelson, 58, Dyer, Indiana. Nelson and his wife were reportedly uninjured during the crash, as was King.

Kosciusko County Coroner Michael Wilson stated that positive identification of both deceased individuals from the burnt pickup truck has not yet been formally determined, and may require the usage of dental records. Kosciusko County F.A.C.T. team members stated that the crash is still under investigation at the current time.