TIPPECANOE COUNTY, Ind. — A man died in a crash after his parked truck was struck by another vehicle shortly before noon on Tuesday in Tippecanoe County.

The Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were dispatched around 11:41 a.m. to the 4800 block of US Highway 52 S. after dispatch received calls that a serious crash had occurred in the area.

First responders arrived and found a male who had been pinned under a red 2005 Ford F-150 pickup truck with severe injuries.

The male, identified as 76-year-old James Weldon of Lafayette, was pronounced dead at the scene despite the efforts of deputies, TCSO said.

TCSO said the Ford pickup truck that Weldon was operating experienced a mechanical failure, leading Weldon to pull over on the far right edge of the roadway. The truck was not completely off the road as a portion of it remained in the right travel lane, according to TCSO.

The truck was soon struck by a 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee that was traveling north in the far right lane and did not change lanes in time before running to the back of the parked Ford pickup truck. Weldon was sitting on the passenger side of the truck at the time of the impact, the sheriff’s office said.

The impact of the collision caused the truck to land in a nearby ditch, piing the driver underneath in the process. The driver of the Jeep Grand Cherokee was not injured in the crash.

The Tippecanoe Emergency Ambulance Service, Wea Township Fire Department and Sheffield Township Fire Department also responded to the scene of the crash to assist.

TCSO confirmed that deputies also responded to another crash about 10 minutes later that was reported in the southbound lanes adjacent to the first crash. A pickup truck carrying a flatbed trailer pulled to the side of the road to provide medical assistance after seeing that Weldon was pinned under a vehicle at the scene of the first crash.

The pickup truck ended up being struck from behind by a vehicle traveling southbound. TCSO said the driver was brought to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

US Highway 52 S. remained closed for around three hours as authorities arrived on the scene to investigate.

TCSO noted that alcohol or drugs are not believed to have had any influence on either crash.