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Police release names in 2 fatal crashes on I-65 Thursday

COLUMBUS, Ind. (WISH) – The Columbus Police Department has released the names of three people who were killed in two separate crashes on Interstate 65 near Columbus on Thursday.

The first crash happened shortly after 4 p.m. It involved a motorcycle that crashed in the median of I-65 at the 64.5 mile marker. According to police, a witness reported seeing the motorcycle traveling in the left southbound lane when the bike began to shake. The motorcycle left the roadway, and both the driver and passenger were ejected.

The driver of the motorcycle, 58-year-old Hunter D. Patton, from Dupont, Indiana, was pronounced dead at the scene. The 55-year-old passenger was taken by ambulance to Columbus Regional Hospital. Her condition is not known.

The second crash happened around 5 p.m. in the southbound lanes of I-65, just north of the 68 mile marker. Police say a 2014 Chevy Equinox hit the back of a semi that was stopped in traffic due to the fatal motorcycle crash earlier. Emergency crews worked for two hours to free the driver of the Equinox, a 55-year-old woman from Commiskey, Indiana. She was taken to IU Health Methodist Hospital to be treated. Her condition wasn’t immediately available.

Police say two cousins – 6-year-old Addison Engle, from Seymour, Indiana, and 11-year-old Keegan Engle, from Hayden, Indiana – were passengers in the Equinox. Both died at the scene. A third child in the vehicle was flown to Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health to be treated for her injuries.

I-65 was closed in the area for several hours after the crashes. Both incidents are under investigation.