MONROE COUNTY, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — An 18-year-old driver was charged with criminal recklessness after an individual was injured after falling out of the bed of the driver’s pickup truck.
According to a release from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department, officers received a report of an injured person at 200 N. Daniels Way, Ivy Tech Community College, around 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 9. The release noted that the report included, “large trucks conducting donuts and creating excess noise.”
When deputies arrived on the scene, they located both the injured person and the driver, identified as Joseph Mattes, 18.
As law enforcement investigated, it was reported that Mattes, “began doing donuts in the parking lot when (injured person) climbed into the bed of the pickup. It was determined that even though the vehicle was in motion, there was no collision, and it is believed that centripetal force is what caused him to be ejected from the rear of the pickup,” the release reads.
The person in the back of the truck reportedly collided with the asphalt in the parking lot, had lacerations on his face, and lost consciousness. The release also noted that witnesses at the scene were going to perform CPR on the injured person before he regained consciousness.
Mattes was remanded to the Monroe County Jail on the following charge:
Criminal Recklessness (level 6 felony)
