A Summersville resident was fatally injured early Thursday morning while walking along Interstate 65 in Lafayette, Ind., authorities have reported.
The Quill received a death notice for Joseph Lamar Jentsch, 24, of Summersville, and a typographical error in the initial release prompted further research to confirm Jentsch’s personal information, leading to the discovery of several news reports out of Lafayette regarding the death of a pedestrian dubbed “John Doe,” as he was not initially able to be identified.
A press release issued Thursday by Tippecanoe County Coroner Carrie Costello, who is investigating the death, said the pedestrian, identified in a release issued later the same day by Costello’s office as Joseph Jentsch, 24, from Missouri, was struck and killed by a vehicle at about 2:30 a.m. Thursday on northbound I-65 in Lafayette. Efforts were immediately underway to work with the Indiana State Police to identify the victim, and a forensic autopsy was conducted by that coroner’s office the same day.
It was determined Jentsch suffered multiple injuries leading to his death, and the fatality was ruled by Costello to be an accident.
Investigation is ongoing, conducted by the coroner’s office, the Indiana State Police and the Lafayette Police Department.
“Our deepest sympathies and condolences go out to the family, and we hope they are respected during such a difficult time,” Costello said in her latest statement.
Jentsch was a 2019 Commercial and Advertising Art graduate from South Central Career Center in West Plains, now Southern Missouri Technical Institute, Quill records show. He completed the program with academic excellence honors and a certification in Skills USA Graphic Design Proficiency.
The Lafayette Journal & Courier newspaper reported on Friday that Jentsch was a construction worker employed on a project in the area and staying at a hotel on Meijer Court near where he was struck and killed. The coroner’s report indicated the accident occurred at mile marker 172 on the interstate, which is shown on Google Maps to be about 350 feet from Meijer Court if traveling by foot.
Jentsch’s death notice appears on Page 4 of today’s Quill.
