HUNTINGTON COUNTY, Ind. — A tragic rollover crash early Wednesday morning claimed the life of a 77-year-old Bluffton man along Interstate 69 in Huntington County. Authorities say the violent crash involved a single vehicle and unfolded after the driver mistakenly drove off a county road and into the interstate corridor.
According to the Huntington County Coroner’s Office, dispatchers received a 911 call around 12:48 a.m. reporting a serious crash on I-69 just south of the 289-mile marker near Markle. The caller told authorities that a vehicle had flipped from the southbound lanes into the northbound lanes before landing in a ditch. Emergency crews were immediately sent to the scene.
First responders arrived to find the vehicle overturned on its roof, with the driver partially pinned underneath. Despite life-saving efforts by emergency personnel, the driver was pronounced dead at the scene. The coroner later identified the victim as Richard W. Elsten, 77, of Bluffton. Officials said he was the sole occupant of the vehicle at the time of the crash.
Police investigation revealed that Elsten had been traveling eastbound on County Road 200 North when he failed to realize the roadway had ended. Authorities said he continued driving through grass, crashed through an Indiana Department of Transportation fence, and went airborne over a ditch. The vehicle then entered the southbound lanes of I-69 at a high rate of speed.
Investigators said the vehicle became airborne again, striking the top barrier cable separating the interstate lanes. That impact caused the vehicle to roll multiple times before finally coming to rest in a ditch on the northbound side of the highway. Police believe Elsten may have thought he was driving on County Road 300 North, a nearby route he had traveled before and one that includes an overpass.
Authorities said speed is believed to have been a contributing factor in the crash. Police also confirmed that Elsten was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the incident. His death has been ruled accidental. In a statement, the Huntington County Coroner’s Office extended its deepest sympathies to Elsten’s family and friends, noting the tragedy of a life lost in such a sudden and devastating way.
