Authorities today released the name of the driver of a vehicle who died in a Monday morning accident on U.S. 35 and John Street in Knox. Robert E. Freye. 67, of Hamlet, died when his vehicle struck a minivan.
Starke County Coroner Kris Rannells and Forensic Pathologist Dr. Alan Griggs performed an autopsy Tuesday in Lafayette and confirmed that Freye had suffered a heart attack prior to the accident and died as a result of injuries sustained in the accident. The cause of death was determined to be a torn aorta.
The woman who was a passenger in the vehicle has been identified as Mary Hightower, 63, of Hamlet. She was badly injured in the accident and remains hospitalized. The driver of the minivan involved in the accident was Patrick McCarty, 39, of Knox who received minor injuries in the accident.
