A Hardin County man is in custody after an alleged OWI crash led to the death of a juvenile.
David Rhodes of Elizabethtown was charged with First Degree Assault and Operating a Motor Vehicle Under the Influence of Alcohol, with additional criminal charges forthcoming, after his arrest Saturday.
According to Kentucky State Police Post Four, in the evening hours on June 27 troopers received a report of a single-vehicle collision near the 860 block of Bewley Hollow road which resulted in an overturned vehicle partially submerged in a flooded creek. The preliminary investigation indicates Rhodes lost control of the vehicle in an area impacted by heavy rainfall and flooding, and the vehicle overturned and entered the flooded creek, trapping Rhodes and two juveniles inside the vehicle.
First responders entered the creek to rescue the trapped occupants inside the vehicle. All three occupants were successfully removed and life-saving measures were immediately begun.
The three occupants were initially transported to Baptist Health Hardin, where Rhodes and one of the juveniles were treated for minor injuries and released. One of the juveniles sustained life-threatening injuries and was transferred to Norton Children’s Hospital in Louisville, where they were pronounced dead Sunday.
As part of the investigation, Rhodes was determined to be under the influence of alcohol. He was arrested and lodged in the Hardin County Detention Center and is scheduled for a video arraignment hearing Monday morning. KSP Post Four’s investigation is ongoing.
