Greencastle man, 24, dies after being ejected in one-car accident

A 24-year-old Greencastle man was fatally injured in a one-car accident Saturday night on County Road 250 North, west of Brick Chapel.

Thomas Jason “T.J.” Franklin was ejected from the 2005 Hyundai Tiburon he was driving westbound on CR 250 North between CR 375 West and 400 West and pronounced dead at the scene of the 8:55 p.m. accident, the Putnam County Sheriff’’s Department reported.

A passenger, Mandi Nicole Leonard, 21, Greencastle, sustained undisclosed injuries in the accident. She was out of the car upon the arrival of witnesses but it is unclear whether she was also ejected or got out of the vehicle on her own.

Witnesses reported having seen the same car drive through the area at a high rate of speed earlier, police reported.

The westbound car crested a hill and went airborne, authorities said. From the crest of the hill to the gouge marks left by the car bottoming out on upon landing was more than 100 feet.

The car then veered off the right side of the road into a grassy area before going back across the road.

On the south side of the road, it went into a gully and then launched out of the other side. It then flipped end for end in a field, at which time Franklin was ejected.

The distance from the crest of the hill to the vehicle’s final resting point was reportedly more than 900 feet, authorities said.

The investigation is ongoing by Putnam County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Robert Soilleux, with assistance from Lt. Donnie Pettit.