A two-vehicle crash Saturday evening west of Ireland left two deceased.

At 8:35 PM, 27-year-old Benjamin Braunecker of Jasper was traveling eastbound on State Road 56, east of County Road 600 West, when he encountered a moped with two riders, stopped in the roadway. 

Braunecker was unable to avoid the moped and struck them with his 1995 Dodge Ram pick-up truck, dragging the moped almost 200 feet before coming to a stop. 

One rider was thrown from the moped, the second was pinned under the truck.

The driver of the moped was pronounced deceased at the scene by the Dubois County Coroner’s Office. 

The passenger was transported to Memorial Hospital in Jasper, where she died shortly after arriving.

Names of the deceased will be released at a later time, once notifications have been made to their families.

The crash remains under investigation by Indiana State Police crash reconstructionists.  State Police was assisted by the Dubois County Sheriff’s Department, Ireland Fire Department, Memorial Hospital EMS, and the Dubois County Coroner’s Office.

Earlier today, Brittany Hormann was located safe by Indiana State Police Officers.

ISP had been seeking the public’s assistance in locating Brittany Hormann, 28 from Hanover. 

Hormann was last seen in Madison, Indiana on Saturday, July 29, 2017 . She was reported missing that same date by her mother.  Although her address is in Hanover, she also has ties to Jennings,  Scott, and Bartholomew Counties in Indiana. 

According to family, she had not suffered from any medical conditions but contacts family members on a daily basis and they had not seen or heard from her since July 29th. 

There were concerned she could have been in danger. 

No further information was released by the state police. 

Indiana Conservation Officers are investigating a fatal ATV accident that occurred in Perry County this morning.  Donald Gill (54) of Leopold, died after crashing his ATV on private property, near Leopold.   
 
Shortly after 11:00 a.m., Gill was found unresponsive pinned underneath his overturned Polaris Ranger ATV in a cornfield off Oliver Road, where he had been training his dogs for squirrel hunting.  His dogs ran home approximately 1/2 mile, whereupon Gill’s family members grew concerned and went searching for him.
 
Gill was pronounced dead at the scene by the Perry County Coroner’s Office.  Assisting agencies included the Perry County Sheriff’s Department and Perry County EMS. 
 
Gill was not wearing a helmet or utilizing the machine’s manufactured safety belts at the time.  Indiana Conservation Officers strongly encourage riders to always wear a helmet and necessary safety equipment when operating an ATV.

Indiana State Police are seeking public’s assistance in locating Shirley Hankins, 82, of Evansville. 

Hankins was last seen yesterday morning near Eddyville, KY.

She was driving from Jackson, TN, to her residence in Evansville.  

She has failed to arrive. She was last seen driving her silver 2014 Kia Sedona.  

The vehicle is equipped with Indiana disabled plate D268QH. The vehicle also has a Delta Airline sticker on the rear bumper. Hankins’ beagle dog was traveling with her.

Hankins is a white female with short gray hair. She is approximately 5’7” and weighs approximately 140 lbs. According to family, she suffers from Alzheimer’s, dementia and other medical conditions.

Anyone with information concerning her whereabouts or the location of her vehicle are encouraged to contact the Indiana State Police at 1-812-867-2079 or your local police.

In the past decade, Indiana has become a national leader in fiscal responsibility and putting taxpayers first. Auditor of State Tera Klutz recently announced the state ended Fiscal Year 2017 with a $42 million surplus and nearly $1.8 billion in reserves, showing Indiana continues to be on the right track for a successful future.

These additional funds serve an important purpose in protecting taxpayers. Just as a family or business must set aside savings for an unexpected emergency, Indiana must do the same to avoid a strain on state government services in the event of an economic downturn. With our healthy reserves in place, Indiana will be able to continue to fund necessary government services like education and Medicaid while the economy recovers, if necessary.

These numbers also demonstrate Indiana’s budgetary discipline. Every two years, the Indiana General Assembly passes a budget to fund Hoosiers’ top priorities. Adjustments are made if revenues and expenditures do not go according to plan, ensuring we live within our means and keep our state on the right track.

Based on our fiscal state, Hoosier taxpayers can be confident lawmakers take Indiana’s finances seriously and work hard to ensure our dollars are managed wisely. 

These accomplishments have not gone unnoticed. U.S. News and World Report named Indiana’s government the best in the nation based on our budget transparency, fiscal stability, state integrity and government digitalization. This fiscal strength has led to several economic successes as well.

Indiana’s unemployment rate in June was the lowest it has been since October 2000. At just 3 percent, we continue to outrank our neighboring states, with Michigan at 3.8 percent, Illinois at 4.7 percent, Ohio at 5 percent and Kentucky at 5.1 percent. Indiana also remains well below the 4.4 percent national average.

Since last year alone, Indiana’s unemployment rate has fallen 1.5 percent, making it the second-largest decrease in the United States.

These recent developments are great news for our state. With the number of employed Hoosiers on the rise, I am confident our economy will continue to thrive and grow.

If you have any thoughts or questions on these or other issues, please contact me by email at Senator.Houchin@iga.in.gov or by phone at 800-382-9467.