Sheriff's Department releases names of victims in early-morning crash on SR 25

An overnight crash involving a passenger car and a semi tanker truck on SR 25, just north of CR 300 Thursday morning, left two people dead and two injured. The driver, Gustave V. Geisleman, 36, and a passenger, Benjamin Joseph Smith, 19, both of South Bend, were killed in the collision. Two other passengers, Philip M. Evans, 24, of Plymouth, and Neil Crum, 35, of Elkhart, were taken to Logansport Memorial Hospital.

According to the Cass County Sheriff's Department, Geisleman was driving the 1995 Volvo, owned by Crum. According to a news release, investigators believe the northbound vehicle drove left of center for an unknown reason and struck an empty semi tractor-trailer rig nearly head on. The accident happened just before 2:30 a.m. on Nov. 3, 2011. The driver of the semi, James K. McCollum, of Atwood, Illinois, was not injured.

A ruptured fuel tank on the semi, owned by Liquid Transport of Indianapolis, caused a diesel fuel spill. State Road 25 was closed for approximately four hours between Logansport State Hospital and County Road 300 S while crews removed the vehicles and cleaned up the diesel fuel.

The crash is still under investigation by the Cass County Sheriff's deputies, who were assisted at the scene by Clymers Fire, Logansport Fire, Cass County Emergency Management, Cass County Coroner's office and Cass County EMS. Sheriff Randy Pryor says investigators do not believe alcohol was a factor in the crash.

The Cass County Sheriff's Department says