(Photo by Stacey Page)

Kosciusko County Sheriff’s deputies and emergency personnel from Atwood were called to an accident on U.S. 30 this afternoon involving a semi and a minivan. The crash left an Oregon man with a serious head injury.

At 2:40 p.m., the crash happened in the eastbound lane of U.S. 30 at CR 750 West. Officers arrived and discovered the van pinned underneath a semi tractor-trailer. The driver of the van, Leland R. Kidder, 73, of Oregon, was extricated from his vehicle by firefighters of the Atwood Fire Department. Kidder was then airlifted from the scene to Lutheran Memorial Hospital, Fort Wayne.

The driver of the semi tractor-trailer, Elmer J. Toyer, 78, of Middlebury, was reportedly uninjured.

According to Kosciusko County F.A.C.T./crash investigators, an initial investigation finds Toyer was northbound crossing U.S. 30 at CR 750 West and inadvertently pulled into Kidder’s path.

The crash remains under investigation at this time. The Kosciusko County F.A.C.T. Team was assisted at the scene by the Atwood Fire Department, Multi-Township E.M.S. and the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department.