MADISON — Indiana State Police said two people were killed after a vehicle involved in a pursuit crashed west of Madison on Thursday.
A Madison police officer attempted to stop a 2005 Toyota passenger car in Madison at 3:34 p.m. Thursday, but the driver fled.
The initial investigation by Indiana State Police-Versailles Detectives indicated that the vehicle being driven by Blake S. Coombs, 18, Madison, sped away from the officer northbound on State Road 7 from Madison, said Sgt. Stephen Wheeles, Indiana State Police spokesman.
The Indiana State Police and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department assisted the Madison Police Department in pursuing the vehicle. The vehicle turned westbound on State Road 250, southbound on State Road 3, and then eastbound on State Road 256 back towards Madison.
Coombs lost control of the vehicle on State Road 256 at Thompson Road, Wheeles said. The vehicle left the roadway, striking two utility poles on the northeast corner of the intersection.
A front seat passenger in the vehicle, Tyler Cooley, 18, Hanover, and a backseat passenger, Brooklyn James, 19, Madison, were killed in the crash, Wheeles said. They were both pronounced deceased at the scene by the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office. Coombs was airlifted from the scene to a Louisville area hospital where he is being treated for serious injuries.
Coombs, who also went by the name Blake Eisenhower, was unlicensed at the time of the crash, Wheeles said.
Detectives from the Indiana State Police-Versailles Post assumed the lead role in the investigation. The ISP-Versailles Post Crash Reconstruction Team responded to investigate the crash. A crime scene investigator from the ISP-Sellersburg Post also assisted at the scene.
The investigation is ongoing. State Road 256 remained closed for approximately seven hours for the investigation and crash cleanup.
All of the families have been notified.
Assisting the Indiana State Police were the Madison Police Department, Hanover Police Department, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, Madison Fire Department, Hanover Fire Department, King’s Daughters’ EMS, Air Methods Medical Helicopter, Jefferson County Coroner’s Office, Duke Energy, and Stanley’s Wrecker Service.
