HUNTINGTON COUNTY, Ind. (WOWO) — A 77-year-old Bluffton man was killed early Wednesday morning in a rollover crash on Interstate 69 in Huntington County.

According to the Huntington County Coroner’s Office, dispatchers received a 911 call around 12:48 a.m. reporting a vehicle that had crossed from the southbound lanes of I-69 into the northbound lanes near the 289-mile marker in Markle and landed in a ditch.

First responders found the vehicle overturned, with the driver partially pinned underneath. The driver, identified as Richard W. Elsten, 77, was pronounced dead at the scene despite life-saving efforts.

Police say Elsten was traveling east on County Road 200 North when he failed to realize the road had ended. Investigators believe he drove through grass, crashed through an INDOT fence, and went airborne over a ditch before entering the southbound lanes of I-69. The vehicle then became airborne again, struck a barrier cable, rolled multiple times, and came to rest in a northbound ditch.

Authorities believe Elsten may have mistaken County Road 200 North for County Road 300 North, a nearby route he had traveled previously that includes an overpass.

Speed is believed to have been a contributing factor, and police noted Elsten was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. He was the sole occupant of the vehicle.

The death has been ruled accidental.

“The Huntington County Coroner’s Office extends their deepest sympathies to the Elsten family and friends,” the office said in a statement.