UPDATE (October 3, 2023):
A woman who died in a crash early Sunday morning has been identified by the Allen County Coroner as 25-year-old Marissa Jo Branning from Fort Wayne.
Around 3 a.m., police and medics responded to the crash on I-69 northbound at the 312-mile marker. Police said Branning was ejected from the car onto the northbound lanes of I-69 and struck by another vehicle.
She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The coroner ruled her cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries, and determined her death was an accident.
The Allen County Coroner’s Office released the following:
On Sunday, October 1st, 2023, at about 03:00 hours the Allen County Coroner’s Office was notified of a motor vehicle crash located on I-69 Northbound at the 312-mile marker, in Fort Wayne. The driver of the car was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The driver has been identified as Marissa Jo Branning, female, White, 25 years of age, from Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Notification has been made to the next of kin. The Cause of Death is Multiple Blunt Force Injuries and the Manner of Death is Accident.
Marissa Jo Branning is the 34th motor vehicle fatality for Allen County in 2023.
The incident remains under investigation by the Fort Wayne Police Department, the Allen County Prosecutor’s Office and the Allen County Coroner’s Office.
ORIGINAL STORY:
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (ADAMS) – One driver has died after two crashes on Interstate 69 in Fort Wayne just after 3 a.m. Sunday.
The driver had been ejected from their vehicle when they were heading north on I-69 and trying to use the 312 B exit when they left the ramp, went over the guardrail, and rolled down the embankment.
The driver was then hit by another car heading north on I-69. Speed is believed to have been a factor in the crash.
The FWPD released the following:
On Sunday, October 1, 2023, at approximately 0309 hours, officers with the Fort Wayne Police Department were dispatched to Interstate 69 at Coldwater Rd. in reference to a crash. Initial calls to 911 provided conflicting information about crash.
A single vehicle was traveling north on I-69 exiting at the 312B exit to northbound Coldwater Rd lanes. The vehicle left the exit ramp crossing all northbound lanes of Coldwater Rd. The vehicle went over the west guardrail for Coldwater Rd and down the embankment. The vehicle continued down the embankment coming over the guardrail for the northbound lanes of I-69
before coming to rest back on I-69 at the 312B exit. The driver of the vehicle was ejected from the vehicle onto the northbound lanes of I-69.
After the initial single vehicle crash, a second single vehicle crash occurred when the ejected driver of the first vehicle was struck by a second vehicle traveling north on I-69. FWPD Officers, Fort Wayne Fire Department personnel, and TRAA medics all provided medical aid to the ejected driver. The ejected driver was pronounced deceased at the scene.
Speed of the initial vehicle exiting the interstate is being investigated as a factor in that crash. It is unknown if alcohol or other intoxicants were also a factor in the initial crash. Alcohol does not appear to be a factor in the second crash.
This incident remains under investigation by the City of Fort Wayne Police Department’s Fatal Crash Team and Allen County Coroner’s Office. Identification of the deceased will be released by the Allen County Coroner’s Office.
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