NAPOLEON, Ind. — A man is dead after he drifted across the center line of U.S. 421 and crashed into a dump truck just south of Napoleon, Indiana around 9:00 a.m. Saturday morning.
The Indiana State Police said 53-year-old Norman Kappes, of Osgood, Ind., was driving a 2000 Jeep north on U.S. 421 just south of Michigan Road when he drifted across the center line and into the path of a dump truck owned by the Ripley County Highway Department.
Police said the vehicles collided nearly head-on in the southbound lanes. They don't know why Kappes crossed the center line.
Kappes suffered fatal injuries in the crash and was pronounced dead at the scene by the Ripley County Coroner's Office.
The crash closed U.S. 421 for approximately five hours on Saturday, police said. Officials don't believe alcohol or drugs played a part in the crash, though a press release said toxicology tests on both drivers are still pending.
