Washington County Archives

NEW PEKIN, Ind. (WISH) — A 4-year-old was hospitalized in Louisville, Kentucky, with life-threatening injuries after a Wednesday morning crash on the hillcrest of a rural Washington County road, Indiana State Police said Wednesday night.

State police did not identify the child or its gender in a news release.

Police think, before the head-on crash, a green 1996 Mazda car was eastbound and a silver 2016 Kia Sportage was westbound about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday on East Bill Miller Road just east of Blue River Church Road. That’s in southern Washington County about 2 miles west of the town of New Pekin.

The child was riding in the Mazda driven by Devin Roll, 29, of New Pekin. Rhonda Danser, 58, of New Pekin, was driving the SUV. Neither driver was seriously injured, police say.

The child was taken to Norton Children’s Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky. New Pekin is about a 35-minute drive northwest of downtown Louisville.

Photos of the crash from state police showed a thin layer of snow on the road.

GEORGETOWN, Ind. (WISH) — Two people from Salem, Indiana, died in a Friday morning crash on State Road 56 in eastern Washington County, state police say.

Ryan A. Fisher, 37, and the passenger, Rebecca Jean Simmons, also 37, died in the crash.

Troopers were called the two-vehicle crash about 7:50 a.m. Friday just east of Shields Road near Georgetown. The town of 3,798 people is about 2 miles northeast of the county seat of Salem. It’s about a 90-minute drive from downtown Indianapolis.

Investigators think Fisher was driving a gray 2009 Chevrolet Aveo car when it collided head-on with a red 2005 Chevrolet Silverado truck. The crash happened in the westbound passing lane, which is the center lane of a three-lane section of State Road 56. Troopers think the Aveo was eastbound and tried to pass other eastbound vehicles when it hit the westbound pickup.

The truck’s driver, Todd M. Albertson, 29, was flown to UofL Hospital in Louisville with life-threatening injuries. A news release from state police did not say where Albertson lives.

SALEM, Ind. (WISH) — A Salem man received a six-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to two child sex charges involving a 14-year-old girl from Bartholomew County, online court records show.

Ryan Andrew Allen was 21 when arrested Feb. 13 after an investigation by Indiana State Poilce and the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office.

The investigation started Feb. 12 after a complaint was filed by the parents of the girl. The girl had been missing from her home since Feb. 10.

“Allen allegedly made arrangements to meet the 14 year old via Facebook,” a release from state police in February said. “After taking the 14 year old girl to Salem, IN and spending the night with her, he returned her home the next day. When she returned home, the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department was contacted, who in turn, contacted detectives from the Indiana State Police Post at Sellersburg to assist them in Washington County.”

Allen allegedly knew the girl was 14 years old, state police said.

Allen was given credit for 150 days served in jail when he was sentenced Friday in Washington Circuit Court.

(Video above of Lauren Robel, IU Bloomington provost and executive vice president, and Bill Brown, the executive director of the Indiana University Center for Rural Engagement, provided by IU)

WEST BADEN, Ind. (WISH) — The Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment has approved a $10 million grant for the Indiana University Foundation to fund the Center for Rural Engagement.

An IU news release said the grant, $2.5 million of which is subject to matching conditions, will help the center support regional initiatives to address community-identified opportunities and needs in 11 neighboring counties: Brown, Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Lawrence, Martin, Monroe, Orange, Owen and Washington counties.

“The Center for Rural Engagement’s focus and vision developed from discussions with local residents and community leaders, as well as with leaders of regional organizations, through a series of meetings and open sessions,” the release said. “More than 200 IU faculty, administrators and staff have participated in project development and engagement activities during the planning period.”

IU said the center will support and enhance ongoing work by IU Bloomington faculty, staff and students on rural issues, using a mix of approaches from faculty-led classes to multidisciplinary research projects.

In Lawrence County, projects have worked to address addiction issues, street and highway infrastructure, and a new use for the decommissioned Avoca Fish Hatchery

Bill Brown, former university director of sustainability and Sustaining Hoosier Communities lead, will serve as the executive director of the center.

Monday’s announcement was made at the historic West Baden Springs Hotel.

SALEM, Ind. (WISH) — A 22-year-old man faces child sex charges involving a 14-year-old girl from Bartholomew County, Indiana State Police said in a news release.

Ryan Andrew Allen, of Salem, was arrested Tuesday morning after an investigation by the state police and the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office. He was formally charged Wednesday with two counts of sexual misconduct with a minor.

The investigation started Monday after a complaint was filed by the parents of the girl. The girl had been missing from her home since Saturday.

“Allen allegedly made arrangements to meet the 14 year old via Facebook,” the release said. “After taking the 14 year old girl to Salem, IN and spending the night with her, he returned her home the next day. When she returned home, the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department was contacted, who in turn, contacted detectives from the Indiana State Police Post at Sellersburg to assist them in Washington County.”

Allen allegedly knew the girl was 14 years old, state police said.

He was incarcerated at the Washington County Jail awaiting his first court appearance, police said.

His next court appearance is set for March 22, online court records show.

SALEM, Ind. (WISH)- The National Weather Service has confirmed at least three tornadoes did touch down in southern Indiana Sunday.

According to the NWS, one tornado is thought to have been at least an EF-0 with 80 mph winds, touching down just west of Salem.

The other tornado, according to the NWS, hit Springville, Indiana in Lawrence County. The scale of that tornado has not yet been determined.

A third tornado was later confirmed in Muncie.

The NWS says they are continuing to investigate the area where the tornadoes touched down.

SALEM, Ind. (WISH) — One person is dead after a fatal accident in Washington County Tuesday afternoon.

It happened near State Road 56 near Heritage Chapel Road just before 2:30 p.m. when 56-year-old Patricia Burdine travelling east crossed the center line and struck a truck driven by Sam Deaton.

Deaton was pronounced dead on scene. His passenger, Malvina Deaton, was transported to an area hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The crash is still under investigation.

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SALEM, Ind. (WISH) — A father, mother and their son have been identified as the victims in a recent triple murder in Washington County.

Danny Newlin, his wife, Kelley Kay Newlin, and their 14-year-old son Austin Newlin were found dead inside of a home in the 5500 block of South Beck’s Mill Road on Sunday evening. Preliminary autopsies revealed gunshot wounds as their causes of death.

Richard Lee Burton Jr. is believed by investigators to be the killer. He was found dead inside of a vehicle at the Blackwell Horse Camp in Monroe County on Tuesday morning. His autopsy is being performed in Terre Haute.

Details regarding Burton’s death have not been released by investigators. Burton’s relationship to the Newlin family has also not been released by investigators.

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SALEM, Ind. (AP) – A body found Monday at a southern Indiana horse park is believed to be the man suspected of killing three people at a rural home where they all were living, police said.

State Police Sgt. Jerry Goodin said investigators are nearly certain that 47-year-old Richard Lee Burton Jr. was found dead in a pickup truck at the Blackwell Horse Camp near Bloomington, Indiana. A coroner has not yet identified the body or determined how the man died.

Goodin said a woman who called Salem, Indiana, police from out of state Sunday evening had asked for a welfare check on the residents of a rural Washington County home about 30 miles northwest of Louisville, Kentucky, after speaking to Burton.

He said the woman “felt something had happened at the residence” based on Burton’s comment to her. Inside, police found the bodies of two males and a female. Their names and ages have not been released.

Goodin said Burton was a guest who had been staying at the house. He said it wasn’t clear what Burton’s relationship was to the three victims, who were last seen alive Saturday.

Authorities believe Burton committed the killings based on their ongoing investigation, and the fact that he was only person who lived at the home that they could not locate after the bodies were found. Goodin said police had been unable to contact Burton on his phone.

“So we’ve got a person who lived at the home, that we confirmed had been at the home and then (he) disappeared. That’s what led us obviously to him,” he said at a news conference in Sellersburg.

Police believe they know the motive in the killings, but he declined to discuss that yet.

The autopsies on the three victims and the man found dead Monday are scheduled for Tuesday.

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WASHINGTON COUNTY, Ind. (WISH) – Police are investigating a double murder in Washington County.

According to the Indiana State Police, emergency crews responded to a call of two unresponsive individuals in a residence in the 300 block of Small Street in Salem just before 1 a.m. Saturday.

After arriving on scene, authorities discovered the two unresponsive people. Both 37-year-old Valerie Dicus and 36-year-old Joseph Hobson were transported to St. Vincent Salem Hospital.

Dicus and Hobson were pronounced dead at the hospital.

Foul play is believed to have been involved. A cause of death has yet to be determined, autopsies are scheduled for later Saturday.

Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact the Indiana State Police at 1-800-872-6743.