Indiana County Coroner Jerry Overman Jr. has released the identities of the two people killed in separate crashes yesterday.
The first accident occurred at 10:25 AM on Route 286 east of Indiana near Abbey Road in White Township. 55-year-old Christine Pierce of Water Street, Indiana, was killed when her Jeep crossed the centerline, colliding with a pickup truck driven by a 44-year-old Heilwood man, whose identity has not been released. Overman says the cause of death is unknown, with an autopsy scheduled today. The driver of the pickup and his passenger, a 40-year-old woman from Marion Center, suffered minor injuries. None of the three were wearing seatbelts.
The second accident happened in East Wheatfield Township at 5:54 PM. 47-year-old Rodney Lynn Johnston of Pinecrest Drive, Seward was killed when his car left Grange Hall Road and struck a large tree head-on. Johnston was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected from the vehicle through the driver’s side window. Overman set the cause of death as multiple blunt force trauma to the head, neck, and chest.
