Velpen woman killed in crash

A 43-year-old Velpen woman was killed when she ran a stop sign and pulled into the path of a propane truck on State Road 162 in Jasper Friday.

According to the Jasper Police Department, they received a report of a personal injury crash on State Road 162 at about 11:58 a.m. When first responders arrived on the scene, they found a 2022 International SynEnergy propane truck and a 2018 Chevrolet passenger car had been involved in a crash. Police said when they arrived, the propane truck was engulfed in flames, but the driver, Nathan Cooper, 37, of Birdseye, had been able to get out of the truck on his own.

The driver of the passenger car, Chasidy R. Fuhrer, 43, of Velpen, was entrapped in the Chevrolet. Firefighters with the Jasper Volunteer Fire Department extricated her from the vehicle. Fuhrer was pronounced deceased at the scene by the Dubois County Coroner’s Office.

Cooper was taken to Memorial Hospital by a personal vehicle. According to police, he suffered from a head laceration and bruises from the crash.

Witnesses to the crash reported that Fuhrer’s vehicle was southbound on Meridian Road when she failed to stop at the intersection with State Road 162, police said. Subsequently, the Chevrolet pulled onto State Road 162 into the path of the eastbound 2022 International. The vehicles collided, and the crash sent both vehicles to the southeast corner of the intersection where the International caught fire.

The road was closed for about four and a half hours while emergency crews cleared the scene.

Assisting agencies included the Indiana State Police, Dubois County Sheriff’s Office, Jasper Fire Department, Jasper Street Department, Dubois County Highway Department, Memorial Hospital EMS, INDOT, Ruxer’s Wrecker Service, Stork’s Wrecker Service, and the Dubois County Coroner’s Office.