UPDATE (February 6, 2026):
JAY COUNTY, Ind. (ADAMS) – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have taken the semi driver who is accused of causing a crash in Jay County that killed four people into custody.
30-year-old Bekzhan Beishekeev is from Kyrgyzstan in central Asia and is in the Fulton County Jail in ICE custody.
The Department of Homeland Security says he will remain in custody pending his upcoming immigration hearing. Henry, Menno, and Paul Eicher were killed in the crash along with Simon Girod.
Read more HERE
UPDATE (February 4, 2026):
A fourth person has died of their injuries suffered in a crash in Jay County on Tuesday. The Jay County Coroner has identified them as 50-year-old Henry Eicher, 25-year-old Menno Eicher, 19-year-old Paul Eicher, and 23-year-old Simon Girod, all from Bryant. They were in a van that was hit head-on by a semi driven by 30-year-old Bekzhan Beishekeev, who was arrested through a bench warrant Tuesday night. The van’s driver, 55-year-old Donald Stipp, is still hospitalized.
The Indiana State Police released the following on Wednesday morning:
UPDATE: The Indiana State Police is investigating a multi-vehicle crash that resulted in the death of 4 people.
February 3, 2026, before 4:00pm the Indiana State Police were called to the area of State Road 67 and County Road 550 East in Jay County to assist the Jay County Sheriff’s Department with a crash. The investigation shows that a 2019 International semi tractor trailer, driven by Gert Pretoruis (44) of Geneva, was traveling east on State Road 67 near County Road 550 East when it slowed down for traffic. A 2022 Freightliner semi tractor trailer, driven by Bekzhan Beishekeev (30) of Philadelphia, PA, that was also eastbound did not stop and swerved into the westbound lane hitting a 2011 Chevrolet van that was driven by Donald Stipp (55) of Portland. The Jay County Coroner’s Office has identified Henry Eicher (50) of Bryant, Menno Eicher (25) of Bryant, Paul Eicher (19) of Bryant, and Simon Girod (23) of Bryant as the four people who were killed in the crash. The Indiana State Police Critical Incident Reconstruction Team is working with the Indiana State Police Commercial Vehicle Division, Jay County Sheriff’s Department, and Jay County Coroner’s Office to complete this investigation.
The investigation is still active and as more information becomes available, this release will be updated. The Indiana State Police Troopers at the scene were assisted by the Indiana State Police Critical Incident Team, Indiana State Police Commercial Vehicle Division, Jay County Sheriff’s Department, Portland Police Department, Portland Fire Department, Bryant Fire Department, Geneva Fire Department, Jay County Coroner’s Office, and Jay County EMS.
ORIGINAL STORY:
JAY CO., Ind. (ADAMS) – Indiana State Police are investigating a crash that killed three people Tuesday afternoon in Jay County. The sheriff’s office called ISP for help as they were called to the crash at State Road 67 and County Road 550 E around 4 p.m. An eastbound semi on SR 67 swerved into the westbound lane, crashing head-on into a van. Several other people are hospitalized with serious and life-threatening injuries.
Indiana State Police released the following:
The Indiana State Police is investigating a multi-vehicle crash that resulted in the death of 3 people.
Today, February 3, 2026, before 4:00pm the Indiana State Police were called to the area of State Road 67 and County Road 550 East in Jay County to assist the Jay County Sheriff’s Department with a crash. The initial investigation shows that a semi tractor trailer was traveling east on State Road 67 near County Road 550 East when it did not stop for a slowed semi tractor trailer. The eastbound semi swerved into the westbound lane and hit a full-size van head on. The crash resulted in the death of three people and left others with life threatening and serious injuries. The Indiana State Police Critical Incident Reconstruction Team is working with the Indiana State Police Commercial Vehicle Division, Jay County Sheriff’s Department, and Jay County Coroner to complete this investigation.
At this time there is no more information available, as we are waiting for the identifications to be confirmed by the Jay County Coroner and for families of the deceased to be notified. As soon as more information is available, this release will be updated.
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