GREENWOOD, Ind. — One person is dead and another critically injured after a crash that happened in Johnson County Thursday.
The one-car collision was reported just after 7 p.m.
Police were called to the 1600 block of South Paddock Road, just south of Olive Branch Road, on a report of a traffic accident. Officers arrived to find a car had struck a tree.
Neighbors rushed to the scene with fire extinguishers and put out a car fire before the fire department arrived.
Fire rescue personnel removed two people who were stuck in the wreckage.
The sheriff's department said the passenger, 16-year-old Austin James Norris of Greenwood, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver was identified as Hunter Wylie Riffle, 16, also of Greenwood. He was taken to Eskenazi Hospital and was listed in critical condition.
The accident is under investigation. Witnesses told police the car was moving at high speed before the crash. Police are asking witnesses or anyone who saw the gray 2004 Volkswagen GTI hatchback going south on Paddock Road prior to the crash to contact sheriff’s office at 317-346-4615.
Investigators also want to speak with the driver of a smaller, light gray SUV with a luggage container attached to the top. They may have witnessed the Volkswagen prior to the accident.
Center Grove High School released a statement saying Norris and Riffle were students at the school. The statement reads in part:
Our thoughts are with the families and friends of these young people during this very difficult time.
Counselors were brought in Friday for any students or staff wanting to speak to someone. Members of the local ministerial association will also be available for anyone wishing to speak with a member of the clergy.
Both teens were also students at Central Nine Career Center. Norris was learning construction trades. Riffle was in the diesel engine program.
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