Off-road vehicle accident near Heritage Lake claims life of Pennsylvania man

An off-road vehicle crash early Sunday near Heritage Lake claimed the life of a Pennsylvania man and left a Putnam County man injured.

Hayden Salapek, 20, of Warren, Pa., was pronounced dead at the scene, Indiana Conservation Officers reported.

Robert Drake, 27, of Fillmore, was transported to the hospital with complaints of back pain.

The incident involving a Polaris Razor off-road vehicle occurred around 2:20 a.m. Sunday at the intersection of County Road 500 North and County Road 750 East, authorities said.

Salapek was found unresponsive in the roadway after being ejected from the driver's seat of the ORV.

A helicopter was initially dispatched to airlift victims, but was later disregarded.

Drake, meanwhile, was reported to have been wearing the factory-installed safety harness in the passenger seat at the time of the crash, and was driven by friends to Hendricks County Regional Hospital at Danville to be medically evaluated.

No helmets were being worn by either victim during the crash, authorities said.

Indiana Conservation Officers are currently investigating the incident, and an autopsy is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday at Regional Hospital in Terre Haute. Alcohol is believed to have been a contributing factor, authorities indicated.

Officers from the Putnam County Sheriff's Department, Putnam County Operation Life Ambulance Service, the Putnam County Coroner's Office, Bainbridge Fire Department, Floyd Township Fire Department and Indiana State Police all assisted at the scene.