A 47-year-old Indianapolis man is dead after a serious crash on Kokomo’s south side Wednesday night, at the busy intersection where U.S. 31 meets State Road 26. Police and EMS crews were called to the scene at roughly 7:40 p.m. and found the man, later identified as Joshua Randall Rhoads, suffering from serious injuries. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to FOX 59, the Kokomo Police Department is investigating the crash alongside the Howard County Coroner’s Office and Indiana State Police. Per Howard County Coroner David E. Granger, as reported by WTHR, the crash occurred shortly before 8 p.m. on September 9 at the intersection of U.S. 31 and State Road 26 on Kokomo’s south side.
Granger confirmed that Rhoads died from multiple blunt force injuries and officially ruled the manner of death accidental, according to The Kokomo Lantern. Multi-agency investigations involving Kokomo police, Indiana State Police, and the coroner’s office are standard procedure for fatal vehicle crashes within city limits, the outlet notes, with ISP typically assisting local police with specialized crash reconstruction.
A Corridor Built to Handle Heavy Traffic
The intersection where Rhoads died carries heavy commuter traffic between Kokomo and Indianapolis alongside regional commercial truck freight, according to SR22 Insurance Indiana. Kokomo has roughly 60,000 residents and sits about 60 miles north of Indianapolis, the site notes, making U.S. 31 a critical link for daily commuters and haulers alike…