Vehicle passenger LifeFlighted to St. Mary’s after accident

Birdseye – Two men were injured when an SUV flipped and was immersed in water south of Birdseye on State Route 145 Monday evening.

According to deputies, 44-year-old Anthony W. Bonifer,  Jasper, was driving a 2002 Ford Explorer north on SR 145 when the vehicle went off the right side of the road. It struck the guardrail, then careened across the road and came to rest off of the road upside down immersed in water.

Bonifer and a passenger, Ryan J. Utterback, were trapped in the vehicle until Birdseye First Responders arrived and extricated them.

Both men were then transported to Memorial Hospital, where Utterback, whose injuries included a broken back and neck, was then transferred by LifeFlight to St. Mary’s Hospital in Evansville.

According to a hospital spokesperson, Utterback’s condition was not available at this time.

According to the Dubois County Sheriff’s Department charges are pending a toxicology report on Bonifer.

The vehicle was considered a total loss.