Police: Man killed when truck hits tree that fell on highway

SHOALS, Ind. (AP) - Southern Indiana police say recent wet weather apparently caused a tree to topple onto a highway, causing a crash that killed a man.

The Martin County Sheriff's Department says 37-year-old Dustin Taylor of Shoals was driving eastbound on U.S. 150 last Friday when an entire tree fell across the highway before his pickup truck crashed into the tree.

Taylor, who was traveling alone, died in the crash near the town of Shoals, about 85 miles (137 kilometers) southwest of Indianapolis.

Sheriff Travis Roush says recent rainfall combined with windy conditions last Friday apparently combined to cause the tree to topple, blocking both lanes of traffic before Taylor's fatal crash.

Roush tells the Washington Times-Herald that "it was a very unfortunate thing that he was driving that stretch at that time."

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Information from: Washington Times-Herald, http://www.washtimesherald.com