WHITESTOWN, Ind. — Three people were killed and 14 people were injured after a semi-truck fire and crash closed down I-65 near Whitestown Sunday morning.
The Boone County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the fatalities in a Facebook post on Sunday afternoon. According to the department, nine vehicles total were involved in the crash.
The crash happened around 11 a.m. at the 130-mile marker of I-65. That’s near the I-865 exchange.
Mathew Lewis Small, 34, is charged with three counts of reckless homicide for causing the wreck. Sheriff’s deputies say he looked down to set down his coffee mug while driving and ran into slower traffic in front of him.
That started a chain reaction crash that ended up killing 21-year-old Mariah Tomey, 19-year-old Kaylee Kirk, and one-year-old Hadley Tomey. They were all from Lebanon.
Sheriff Mike Nielsen with the Boone County Sheriff’s Office said Monday he spoke with Small, who was “very regretful and upset” for what happened. Small gave the sheriff a hand-written note that said “My heart and prayers are with the families. I am in agony over this whole ordeal.”
The office says investigators will look through video, device data, forensic analysis, autopsy results, blood work results and more. The full investigation could take up to six months.
(PHOTO: Boone County Sheriff’s Office)
