The Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office says distracted driving was a factor in a serious crash.
The sheriff’s office says in a news release that 21-year-old Michael Luckett of Evansville was driving a pickup truck on Darmstadt Road Saturday afternoon when he was distracted by an incoming cell phone call.
Luckett took his eyes off the road to find the phone, and the truck ran off the road and hit a tree, ejecting passenger Tyler Riney.
The 24-year-old Riney wasn’t wearing a seat belt and became trapped under the truck until Luckett and bystanders could free him.
An ambulance took Riney took a hospital with serious injuries.
Luckett had been buckled-up and was not injured.
The sheriff’s office points out that texting and driving is illegal in Indiana, but using a cell phone to make a call while operating a motor vehicle is still legal.
Investigators say the case remains open pending toxicology results.