Investigation is early in fatality on Pittsboro Road

Gus Pearcy, The Lebanon Reporter, Ind.
·2 min read

Jul. 26—A Lebanon man was killed this weekend when a parked pickup truck he was in was struck on a deserted stretch of County Road 25 W. near C.R. 400 S.

At 10:35 p.m. Saturday, Boone County Communications was alerted by an onboard communications system of the wreck from a 2007 Chevy Tahoe. When emergency responders arrived, they saw Wes McClaine, 35, Lebanon, had been killed as a result of the accident. Police say McClaine was in the bed of a Chevrolet pickup truck that was parked off the northbound side of the Lebanon-Pittsboro blacktop. The truck was struck by the Tahoe, which was headed north.

Whitney Sherill, 22, of Thorntown, was also in the bed of the truck and suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries. She was transported to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.

The driver of the SUV, Gavin Lengacher, 19, of Pittsboro, was not injured.

Boone County Sheriff's Office Major Brian Stevenson said the Fatal Alcohol Crash Team, or FACT, was called to investigate the accident. As of Monday, Stevenson could not say why the truck was parked alongside the road.

"Those are some of the things (FACT) will look into when gathering all the information to find out if we will recommend charges," he said Monday. "Something our crash team will be looking into is exactly how far off the roadway were they, why were they there, did they have any hazards on?"

Stevenson said he also doesn't know if alcohol was a factor in the accident. He said he had to rush to notify McClaine's mother.

"Unfortunately, I didn't spend very much time on the scene," Stevenson said. "One of the things that we do now is as soon as possible — with social media — we try to get to the family's house. Because I can't tell you how many times in the past that I went to make a death notification and they already knew."

Stevenson said the accident was one and a half miles south of C.R. 250 S. on a very dark portion of the road.

"There are no lights," Stevenson added. "It is just pitch dark out there when there are no vehicles or anything."