19-year-old ejected after head-on crash with tree in Washington County

Wednesday at 5:00 AM the Washington County Sheriff’s Office was notified of a single car accident at the intersection of Indian Lore Road and East Newark Drive in Trenton. The caller reported a car hit a tree and there was a person on the ground who appeared to be unresponsive.

When the first Sheriff’s Deputy arrived he found the car up against a tree about 45 feet south of the paved portion of the road. He also found the unresponsive subject on the ground and determined the subject was deceased. 

The evidence on the scene indicated the car was driving south on on Indian Lore Road and failed to negotiate the 90 degree curve where Indian Lore Road turns into Newark Drive. The driver drove off the south shoulder of Newark Drive and hit the tree head-on ejecting the driver and sole occupant of the vehicle.    

The driver was identified as a 19-year-old Kewaskum resident Ruben Padilla-Castaneda.

This was Washington County’s third traffic fatality of the year.