DC SHERIFF
A fatal collision claimed the life of a pedestrian early Monday morning in the Browns Valley area. Authorities responded to multiple emergency calls after reports of a person walking along US Highway 431 near Burns Road, followed minutes later by news that the pedestrian had been struck by a vehicle. First responders from the Daviess County Sheriff’s Office and local fire departments found the man deceased at the scene. Passengers in the striking vehicle were unharmed, though their car sustained moderate damage. The cause for the pedestrian being in the roadway remains unknown. Investigators have ruled out alcohol and drugs as factors.
UPDATE: The pedestrian killed has been identified by the Daviess County Coroner’s Office as Jeremy Wingfield, age 41, of the 8800 block of US Highway 431. At the time of the collision, he was walking southbound in the travel portion of the southbound lane of US Highway 431 and was struck by 2016 Buick SUV. A few hours prior to that event, at approximately 8:30 pm, DCSO responded to a single vehicle accident in the 7700 block of US Highway 431 where a 2012 Chrysler Minivan had lost control and struck a guardrail leaving the vehicle disabled and blocking the northbound lane.
According to witnesses, the driver of the vehicle was Jeremy Wingfield, and he had fled the area on foot prior to deputies arriving. Deputies searched for Wingfield but were unable to locate him. When checking his residence, deputies were advised that he had been driving the vehicle but had not yet returned home. Deputies have determined that Wingfield most likely was hiding in a nearby field while emergency crews worked the accident scene and cleared the roadway and that at the time of the fatal collision he was walking to his home which was approximately 1 mile away from where he allegedly wrecked the minivan.
