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Driver fatally injured after single-vehicle crash on I-69 in Fort Wayne

Fatal crash on I-69 in Fort Wayne

LATEST: The woman who died in the I-69 crash was identified Monday as Marissa Jo Branning, 25, of Fort Wayne. Her cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries in an accident. Her death is the county’s 34th motor vehicle fatality of 2023.

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WISH) — A person is dead after they were thrown from their car during a crash and hit by another vehicle on I-69 early Sunday morning in Fort Wayne.

The name or age of the person has not been shared yet.

Around 3:09 a.m. Sunday, Fort Wayne Police Department officers were sent to Interstate 69 at Cold Water Road on a report of a crash. Police say that initial 911 calls “provided conflicting information” about the accident.

Through their investigation, officers learned that a single car was driving north on I-69 and exiting at the 312B exit to Coldwater Road. The vehicle then left the exit ramp crossing all of the northbound lanes for Coldwater Road, going over the guardrail and falling down an embankment.

The vehicle continued down the embankment that went over the guardrail for the I-69 northbound lanes, before coming to rest on I-69 at the 312B exit. The driver of the car was thrown from the vehicle onto the highway.

After the initial crash, a second crash happened when the driver of the first vehicle was hit by a second vehicle traveling north on I-69. First responders provided aid to the driver, but they were pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators believe speed to be a factor in the accident, but are working to determine if alcohol was a factor in the crash. Police say alcohol is not believed to be a factor in the second crash.

All lanes were open to traffic as of 6:30 a.m.