The St. Joseph County Police Department has given an update to a fatal rollover crash that occurred Thursday night.
At about 11:45 p.m., St. Joseph County Police were dispatched to State Road 2 and Pine Road for a verbal altercation between two drivers involved in a traffic accident.
Upon arrival, a county officer found only one of the drivers remaining on scene. Rene Hernandez-Ramirez informed the officer that the other driver left the scene in a gray SUV heading north on Pine. As the officer was still talking with Hernandez-Ramirez, a police radio dispatch went out for a single vehicle rollover crash involving an SUV a mile and a half north of State Road 2 on Pine Road, just south of Edison Road.
Upon arrival at the Pine Road rollover crash, officers discovered a male driver unconscious and pinned under an SUV lying on its roof. Fire and medical personnel arrived and attempted life saving measures, however 27-year old Justus Taylor O’Hara, of South Bend was pronounced dead on scene by medical personnel.
The crash also resulted in damage to two wood utility poles and AEP power lines. Those repairs have been completed.
After noticing signs of intoxication, officers issued Hernandez-Ramirez a portable breathalyzer test. A short time later 33-year-old Rene Hernandez-Ramirez, of Goshen was arrested on scene for suspected operating a vehicle while intoxicated, and transported to the St. Joseph County Jail. All defendants are presumed innocent until convicted in a court of law.
Police say the investigation remains an active and ongoing investigation by the St. Joseph County Police Department Traffic Investigation Unit. Police say speed and intoxication are preliminarily believed to be factors in the fatal rollover crash.