Longtime attorney, former Delaware County commissioner Don Dunnuck killed in crash
MUNCIE, Ind. — Longtime local attorney Don Dunnuck, a former Delaware County commissioner, was fatally injured Monday night in a single-vehicle accident on Muncie's west side.
Dunnuck, 84, was pronounced dead at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital following the crash, which took place along Talley Avenue about 9:40 p.m., according to Gavin Greene, chief deputy coroner in Delaware County.
According to a report by Ball State University police, a van driven by Dunnuck struck a tree after going over a curb near Lucina Hall, 2120 W. University Ave. The attorney had been en route to IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital, where a family member had gone for treatment earlier in the evening.
The lawyer's assistant, identified in the crash report as Lisa Fordyce, was also injured in the crash.
Greene said an autopsy would be conducted on Wednesday.
Dunnuck for decades was active in Democratic politics and provided legal representation for local government entities. The longtime resident of the Albany area had practiced law in Delaware County since 1965.
He was elected county commissioner in 2008 and served a four-year term.
In that year's Democratic primary election, Dunnuck unseated incumbent Commissioner John Brooke. He won the general election, in a race with Republican Bob Wilson, on a night that saw several local Democratic victories.
Dunnuck credited at least part of the party's success that evening, when Democrat Barack Obama won his first term as president, to "Obama's coattails."
"Obama's grassroots effort to get the vote out helped all Democrats," he said.
Dunnuck didn't seek re-election in 2012 after redrawn boundaries left him in a new district.
His family included two other local attorneys, his daughter Muncie City Court Judge Amanda Dunnuck, and son Jake Dunnuck.
When Amanda Dunnuck became City Court judge in 2015, her father expressed amusement at the concept of addressing his own child as "Judge."
Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Longtime attorney Don Dunnuck fatally injured in crash
