One person dies in U.S. 20 crash Thursday afternoon

ELKHART COUNTY, Ind. – One person has died following a three-vehicle crash along U.S. 20 Thursday, the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office reported.

At 2:40 p.m., officers were called to the intersection of U.S. 20 and C.R. 43 for the crash.

According to the investigation, a 2018 Ram 3500 was traveling west on U.S. 20 when it tried to pass a 2007 Jeep Compass that was stopped and waiting to turn south onto C.R. 43.

The Ram tried to pass the Compass on the shoulder on the north side of U.S. 20 but the front driver’s side of the Ram rear-ended the Compass on its passenger side.

The impact pushed the Compass into the eastbound lanes of U.S. 20 and into the path of a 2014 Volvo VNL semi.

The front end of the semi hit the passenger side of the Compass, causing heavy damage.

The front passenger of the Compass, identified as 31-year-old Oren Miller of Middlebury, was pronounced deceased at the scene.

The driver of the Compass was taken to the hospital for none-life-threatening injuries.

The driver of the Ram was cited for improper passing on the right. During the initial impact, the trailer of the Ram jackknifed, causing damage to its trailer and rear end of the vehicle.

The driver of the semi was not injured.

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