Jay County, IN — February 3, 2026, Henry Eicher, Menno Eicher, Paul Eicher and Simon Girod were killed and Donald Stipp was injured in a truck accident at about 4 p.m. on State Road 67 east of Bryant.

Authorities said an eastbound 2022 Freightliner semi-truck swerved into the westbound lane to avoid a slower-moving semi-truck near County Road 550 and crashed head-on with a 2011 Chevrolet van.

Van passengers Henry Eicher, 50; Menno Eicher, 25; Paul Eicher, 19; and Simon Girod, 23, died from injuries suffered in the crash just west of the Ohio state line, according to authorities.

The van was driven by Portand resident Donald Stipp, 55, authorities said. He was hospitalized in critical condition after the crash.

Authorities have not released any additional information about the Jay County crash at this time. The accident is still under investigation.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

When people read about a semi-truck crossing the center line and causing a head-on crash, the first questions are always the same: Why did the truck leave its lane? Was this really unavoidable? And are we getting the full picture? Those questions matter here because the explanation offered so far leaves a lot unanswered.

According to authorities, the Freightliner semi allegedly swerved into oncoming traffic to avoid a slower-moving truck ahead of it. That statement sounds simple, but it raises more questions than it answers. We don’t yet know how fast either truck was traveling, how close the following truck was or why a lane departure was the chosen response instead of braking or maintaining control within the lane. Depending on whether the truck was following too closely, distracted or reacting late, the cause of this crash could look very different.

It’s also not clear what was happening inside the cab of the semi just before the collision. Was the driver attentive to traffic ahead? Was a cell phone in use? Did fatigue play a role late in the afternoon? Those questions can’t be answered by speculation. They’re answered by evidence: cell phone records, in-cab camera footage if the truck was equipped with cameras and data from the engine control module, the truck’s black box. That data can show speed, braking, steering input and throttle position in the moments before the truck crossed the center line.

Another open issue is timing and distance. How long had the slower-moving truck been ahead? Was there adequate following distance, or did the situation develop suddenly because the Freightliner driver wasn’t leaving room to react? If the truck driver was boxed in by traffic, investigators need to determine why that happened and whether it was foreseeable and preventable.

I’ve handled cases where an initial report made a crash sound like a split-second emergency, only for the data to later show that the driver had several seconds to respond but didn’t. In other cases, company policies — tight delivery schedules, inadequate training or poor supervision — played a major role in how a driver reacted under pressure. That’s why a proper investigation looks beyond the crash scene and into the driver’s history, training and the trucking company’s safety practices.

Right now, we don’t know whether this was truly an unavoidable maneuver or the result of earlier decisions that put the truck in a bad position to begin with. Until all the evidence is collected and reviewed, any conclusion about responsibility is premature.

Key Takeaways

• A claim that a truck “swerved to avoid” another vehicle raises important questions about speed, following distance and reaction time.
• Black box data, cell phone records and in-cab video are critical to understanding why the truck crossed the center line.
• It’s not yet clear whether distraction, fatigue or delayed braking played a role.
• Truck crashes like this often involve more than a single moment of error, making a full investigation essential.