The Starke County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday that a LaCrosse man has been charged with leaving the scene of a fatality accident, in connection to a crash that occurred on March 14 at the area of U.S. 421 and County Road 500 S. in San Pierre.
On that day, at around 10:45 p.m., deputies from the Starke County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to that area for a personal injury traffic accident. When officers and other first responders were on the scene at 10:53 p.m. they located an unresponsive male.
The male, 35-year-old Sherman Rhodes Berry of Hamlet, was pronounced dead at the scene after life saving efforts proved unsuccessful.
After investigation by detectives with the Sheriff’s Office and other assisting agencies, it was determined that a white colored 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup driven by 38-year-old Travis Eugene Lynch of LaCrosse, had been traveling southbound on US- 421 near the County Road 500 S. intersection in San Pierre. As the truck continued traveling, a male determined to be Sherman Berry was in the roadway and Lynch didn’t have enough time to react to avoid hitting Sherman Berry. The front driver’s side of the truck struck Sherman Berry while he was on the roadway.
Lynch left the scene leaving Sherman Berry to be later found at the scene dead. The Dodge truck involved in this incident has been recovered from an auto yard in Westville.
Travis Lynch was interviewed on March 25 by Starke County Detectives and later booked into the Starke County Justice Center for one count of leaving the scene of a fatality accident.