An Indiana State Trooper was hospitalized with serious injuries Friday morning after a crash on I-74. At 2:48 a.m., Master Trooper Jeremy Basso was assisting a construction crew on I-74 westbound at the 112 mile marker when the back of his vehicle was struck by an SUV. Basso was able to exit his vehicle on his own and radio for assistance, he was transported by the Shelbyville EMS to a local hospital with serious injuries. The driver of the SUV was also transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Preliminary investigation by Indiana State Police Crash Reconstructionists determined Basso’s police car was parked in a closed lane behind a crew of construction workers with his emergency lights activated. The lane was closed approximately a half mile prior to the crash due to construction and was marked by several signs and orange construction barrels. A 2015 Ford Explorer struck several barrels and continued driving in the closed lane until crashing into the back of Trooper Basso’s car.
The driver of the Explorer, 21 year old Mason Durrett of Indianapolis, is suspected of driving while under the influence of alcohol. He was arrested at the hospital on the preliminary charge of Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated Causing Serious Bodily Injury.
The charges listed are preliminary, and merely probable cause for arrest. Formal charges will be determined by the Shelby County Prosecutor’s Office upon review of the case. All crimes mentioned in this release are alleged and all suspects are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.