Vehicle Crash – Passenger in Critical Condition
On December 17 at about 3:00 am the Lafayette Police Department responded to a vehicle crash in the 1100 block of N 9th St. The Tippecanoe County Fatal Alcohol Crash Team [F.A.C.T.] was dispatched to conduct the crash investigation. Officers determined a pickup truck, driven by 30-year-old Andrew Harshbarger of Dayton, was northbound on N 9th Street, slid off the roadway and struck a tree on the west side of the road. The truck then re-entered the roadway, where it struck a parked vehicle on the east side of the road. A passenger in the truck, 25-year-old Candi Lester of Daton, was ejected from the vehicle.
Lester was transported from the scene by ambulance to a local area hospital and remains in critical condition. Harshbarger had minor injuries and was later arrested for operating while intoxicated resulting in serious bodily injury. The investigation is on-going.
Sgt. Scott Galloway / Crime Prevention & Community Outreach
The fact a person has been arrested or charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.