Two die in Jennings County State Road 3 crash

Two people died last week in a Jennings County crash on State Road 3.

The Jennings Sheriff’s Department reports that 47-year-old Joseph Simmonds of Hanover was driving south on the highway near County Road 25E at 6:43 a.m. Thursday morning when his pickup crossed the centerline, striking an SUV head-on. The pickup then caught fire.

A witness was able to pull the driver of the SUV, 61-year-old Linda Howell of Lexington to safety.

Simmonds and a passenger in his truck, 47-year-old Elizabeth Beeman of North Vernon both were pronounced dead at the scene by the Jennings County Coroner’s Office staff.

Howell suffered serious injuries and was flown to an area hospital.