UPDATE – FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO) – The Allen County Coroner’s Office has identified the driver that died in a motor vehicle crash that occurred around 3:00 A.M. Sunday morning on Coldwater Road at I-69 Northbound.
The driver has been identified as 25-year-old Marissa Jo Branning of Fort Wayne. Her cause of death is Multiple Blunt Force Injuries and the Manner of Death is Accident.
Marissa Jo Branning is the 34th motor vehicle fatality for Allen County in 2023.
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EARLIER: One person is dead after an early morning crash at I-69 and Coldwater Road.
It started around 3:09 AM when the Fort Wayne Police Department responded to a distress call.
Conflicting reports complicated the situation. A single vehicle exited northbound I-69 to northbound Coldwater Rd, crossed all northbound lanes of Coldwater Road crashed through a guardrail, and tumbled down an embankment. The vehicle continued down the embankment, went over the guardrail onto northbound I-69, and came to rest on I-69 at the northbound Coldwater Road exit. The driver was ejected onto northbound I-69.
After the initial crash, a second vehicle struck the ejected driver on northbound I-69. Despite medical efforts, the driver did not survive.
Investigators are looking into factors such as speed and intoxication in the first crash. Alcohol seems unrelated to the second crash.
The Fort Wayne Police Department’s Fatal Crash Team and the Allen County Coroner’s Office are handling the investigation. The identification of the deceased will be released by the Allen County Coroner’s Office.
