Twin Brothers Die In Accident In Crawfordsville

Last updated on Friday, May 24, 2013

(CRAWFORDSVILLE) - A trip to school turned into tragedy for twin brothers near Crawfordsville on Thursday morning. One is injured and the other has died.

State police responded to a single vehicle crash at about 8:30 a.m. on Old State Road 55 just south of County Road 500 West.

Don Harshbarger, who heard the crash from his home a few hundred feet from the crash said there was screeching of the tires where they were sliding sideways and then the vehicle rolled.

Harshbarger's wife called 911 after seeing a white pickup roll at least three times. The passenger, 18-year-old Mike McCord, was ejected and later died of internal injuries. State police said his twin brother, Mitch McCord, was driving. He reportedly lost control on the right side of the road and then over-corrected.

Mitch McCord suffered a shoulder contusion in the crash. State police said neither alcohol nor drugs played a factor, but they said neither of the twins were wearing their seat belts.

The brothers were on their way to Crawfordsville High School for one of the last days of their junior year.

Mark Melton, Assistant Principal at Crawfordsville High School says Mike McCord left a big impression at the school. He was a football player, freshman mentor and member of the show choir.

"Mike is your typical, all-American, high school student," Melton said, "very intelligent, very well liked, always had a smile on his face. You would never catch he, nor his brother, without a smile on their face and it was contagious."

Though news of the crash quickly spread through the school Thursday morning, administrators allowed students to share their grief and welcomed counselors and community members to come in and comfort those who needed it.

When students return to school Friday morning, they'll have the opportunity to sign banners and leave messages to the family.

As they continue to mourn, many wonder what a difference seat belts might have made.

"It looked to me like they would have probably been all right (with seat belts), just looking at the inside of the vehicle," Harshbarger said. "They would've had a lot better chance than the way it ended up. That's for sure."

Melton said the students are now rallying around Mitch McCord and two other siblings who attend the school.