ELKHART, IN : Bristol man dies in New Years Day crash in Elkhart on Monday, 1st January 2024

A 22-year-old Bristol man is dead after a crash early New Year’s Day morning in Elkhart.

Police say an off-duty officer in a marked squad car called the Elkhart City 911 Communications Center just before 12:15 a.m. to report a Honda CRV that was speeding near Elkhart High School on California Road. The officer then told the communications center that it crashed with a GMC Envoy near the intersection of California Road and N. Nappanee Street.

When first responders arrived on scene, they found the CRV heavily damaged and lying on its roof in the grass southeast of the intersection. According to police, the CRV struck multiple other objects in addition to the Envoy, including a utility pole, a tree, and a light pole.

The driver of the CRV, identified as 22-year-old Braxton Smith of Bristol, was ejected from the vehicle and unresponsive on the scene. Smith was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

First responders found the Envoy with heavy front-end damage in the intersection. One passenger, a 33-year-old woman, was treated on scene by medics before she was taken to the hospital to receive further treatment for injuries that are said to be non-life-threatening. Police say the driver of the Envoy, a 29-year-old man, and two other passengers did not require or declined treatment from medics.

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