Victims named in Cassopolis crash

Published 10:46 am Thursday, January 31, 2019

CASSOPOLIS — The Cassopolis Police Department has released the names of the victims involved in a fatal crash Monday.

Police were initially dispatched to a two-vehicle crash on M-62, west of Hilton Street around 5:37 p.m. Monday, where officers found two pickup trucks in the middle of M-62, in front of the Cass County Law and Courts Building.

Trenton Newton, 24, of Cassopolis was found dead at the scene. Josh Parkhurst, 35, of Dowagiac, and Vanessa Moffitt, 48, of Decatur were injured in the crash. They remain hospitalized but in stable condition, according to police.

Police investigation into the accident has shown that as westbound truck, driven by Newton, lost control on the ice and went across the centerline. It was then struck by an eastbound truck driven by Parkhurst, with Moffitt as his passenger.

Deputies have determined that seatbelts were used at the time of crash and that drugs and alcohol were not factors in the crash.