UPDATE (Greene County) – Earlier this morning, the driver of the 2006 Chevrolet Colrorado, Mason William Hartke, 19 of Jasper turned himself in to Greene County Authorities after a warrant was filed for his arrest. The Greene County Prosecutor charged Hartke with three (3) counts of Operating While Intoxicated with a BAC greater than .08 Causing Death and three (3) counts of Reckless Homicide. All six of the charges are Level 5 Felonies.
Hartke's bond has been set at $60,000.
ORIGINAL MESSAGE 11/13/2016 - Early this morning, the Indiana State Police at the Bloomington Post were dispatched to a car-deer crash that had occurred on Interstate 69 near the 103-mile marker. Upon Trooper Cory Knight’s arrival, he observed a large amount of debris in the roadway as well as a passenger car and an inverted pickup truck near the earthen embankment on the west side of the interstate.
The crash investigation has revealed that a 2015 Honda Civic, driven by David Rinehart, 46 of Newburgh was traveling southbound on I69 and had struck a deer causing the Honda to pull onto the outside shoulder and come to a stop. Afterward, a 2006 Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck driven by Mason Hartke, 19 of Jasper, was traveling southbound on I69 approaching Rinehart's location when, for unknown reasons, the truck left the southbound lanes of traffic and entered the outside shoulder, striking the parked Honda.
The crash resulted in the deaths of David Rinehart, 46, Ruth Rinehart, 74 and Sophie Rinehart, 17, all of Newburgh. Another passenger in the Honda, Josie Rinehart, 18, also of Newburgh, suffered cuts and abrasions and was transported to IU Health Bloomington.
Mason Hartke was transported to IU Health for a fractured arm.
The Rinehart family has been notified and the crash investigation is ongoing.
ASSISTING AGENCIES - Greene County Sheriff's Department, Monroe County Sheriff's Department, Bloomington Police Department, Greene County Ambulance Service transported victims to IU Health Bloomington, Van Buren Fire Department, Greene County Coroner's Office and Center Township Fire Department.
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PHOTO - Mason William Hartke
