A man from Kouts who was the sole occupant in a car that struck a tree in Liberty Township Thursday evening later died, according to the Porter County Sheriff’s Department.
Deputies were dispatched around 6:13 p.m. to a motor vehicle accident with injuries in the area of 945 North County Road 200 West, according to a release from Sgt. Ben McFalls, the department’s public information officer.
The caller said the vehicle struck a tree and may have rolled over.
Responding officers found the vehicle, a 2010 Honda passenger car, in the middle of the roadway and occupied by a male driver. All the air bags had deployed and the car had major damage, McFalls said.
The driver, 37, was conscious, alert and speaking with officers on the scene.
The initial investigation showed the Honda was southbound on County Road 200 West in the area of 950 North. For an unknown reason, the car left the roadway south of the railroad tracks in the area and struck a tree on the east side of the road.
The driver door and seat belt were removed by force with extrication tools while the driver was being tended to by medics on scene, according to a post on the Liberty Township Volunteer Fire Department Facebook page.
Once the door was removed and firefighters were able to see inside better to assess the situation, firefighters discovered that one foot from the driver was punched through the floorboard.
The driver was transported with life-threatening injuries to Northwest Health-Porter, where an air ambulance was dispatched to transport to a trauma center in Chicago, according to the fire department.
The driver later died, McFalls said.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the driver during this incredibly difficult time,” McFalls said.
The accident remains under investigation.
