Seymour man struck and killed while walking on Interstate 65

A Seymour man was struck and killed while walking in the southbound lanes of Interstate 65 late Sunday night.

According to the Indiana State Police, the driver of a southbound semi thought he had struck a pedestrian who was walking along the fog line just north of Austin at about 11:25 p.m. Sunday night. The driver pulled over immediately and contacted authorities.

Deputies from Scott and Jackson counties arrived on the scene and searched the area but couldn’t find a victim. But as they continued the search, a southbound car struck a man walking about a half mile north of the first incident. That driver also stopped and called for help.

Authorities found the victim, 35-year-old Bryce A. Sheaffer of Seymour and he was taken to Scott Memorial Hospital in Scottsburg, where he was pronounced dead.

A crash reconstruction by the Indiana State Police concluded that Sheaffer was first grazed by the semi, and then continued walking north, this time into the southbound travel lanes where he was struck by the second vehicle.

Police say that neither alcohol nor drug use by either driver is suspected to have been a factor in the crash.

The southbound lanes of the interstate were shut down until about 4 a.m. Monday morning.