UPDATE (July 19, 2022): The Allen County Coroner has identified the man killed in a crash last Friday morning off State Road 37.
The coroner says that 24-year-old Oi La Ma, of Fort Wayne, died from inhaling smoke and thermal burns suffered in the crash. He was driving an SUV that, for an unknown reason, left the roadway.
(original story below)
The vehicle caught fire and Ma was unable to get out. Another man was in the SUV at the time and he was able to exit the vehicle. He was initially listed as having life-threatening injuries. His current condition is not known.
The Allen County Coroner released the following:
On Friday, July 15th, 2022, the Allen County Coroner’s Office was notified of a single vehicle crash in the 26400 block of State Road 37, in Harlan. First responders advised the vehicle left the roadway and landed in a creek bed. The vehicle caught fire and the driver was able to exit the vehicle. The front seat passenger was pronounced dead at the scene.
The deceased has been identified as Oi La Ma, male Asian, 24 years of age of Fort Wayne.
Notification has been made to the next of kin and an autopsy has been completed. The Cause of Death has been determined to be Thermal Burns and Smoke Inhalation and the Manner of Death is ruled an Accident.
Oi La Ma is the 24th fatal motor vehicle crash for 2022.
This incident is under investigation by the Allen County Police Department, the Allen County Prosecutor’s Office and the Allen County Coroner’s Office.
ORIGINAL STORY:
ALLEN CO., Ind. (ADAMS) – The Allen County Sheriff’s Department says that one man is dead and another is hospitalized following a crash Friday morning.
Police were called just before 5 a.m. to State Road 37 and North County Line Road. When they arrived they found an SUV that had left the roadway.
According to a release from the department, the driver was able to escape when the vehicle caught on fire after it hit a bridge embankment.
He was taken to the hospital with “severe” injuries. The passenger in the SUV was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Allen County Sheriff’s Department released the following:
On Friday, July 15, 2022, at approximately 4:58 a.m., Allen County Police Officers responded to SR-37 west of North County Line Road, for a single vehicle crash involving a 2014 SUV occupied by 2 males. Upon arriving, and after conducting the initial investigation, it was determined that the male driver of the SUV was traveling north on SR-37 when for an unknown reason the vehicle went off the north side of the roadway and hit the bridge embankment sending it airborne.
When the vehicle landed it caught on fire. The driver was able to exit the vehicle and was transported to a local hospital with severe injuries. The passenger was deceased at the scene. The crash remains under investigation by the Allen County Sheriff’s Department. The identity of the deceased, along with the cause and manner of death, will be released by the Allen County Coroner.
