Clark County, IN — December 29, 2023, 62-year-old pedestrian Larry Caudill was hit and killed by a semi-truck on Interstate 65 in Clark County.

Authorities say the incident happened around 8:30 p.m. on southbound I-65 near mile marker 2.5. Preliminary investigation suggests Caudill was allegedly trying to run west through the southbound lanes when he was struck and fatally injured by a passing big rig. The truck driver reportedly stopped immediately and contacted police.

Caudill suffered fatal injuries in the crash. Authorities allege he was not a stranded motorist and are still trying to determine why he was running across the expressway.

The crash remains under investigation. No further information is currently available.

People have a bad habit of believing anyone on foot in a highway's lanes is more or less automatically at fault for being hit there. Fortunately the law isn't so quick to judge, and as always it's important to investigate carefully and learn all the details before reaching conclusions about who or what is to blame.

Police mentioned finding out why victim was on the road as part of the investigation, but there are other questions to answer as well: How fast was the truck traveling? Is that area illuminated at night? Were the truck's lights on? Was the driver awake, alert, and focused on the road? Was there any other traffic in the area? What were weather and road conditions at the time?

All those details and many others could have an impact on how the crash is understood, which is why it's imperative that investigators don't settle for a "good enough" explanation and close the books. Even police sometimes get tempted to just blame someone for running where they shouldn't, and in those cases a victim sometimes gets blamed unfairly. Is there a risk of the whole story going unlearned in Clark County?