What investigators reported
A sanitation worker on foot was struck by a passenger vehicle in the 7800 block of County Road 68 east of Spencerville in DeKalb County at 11:38 a.m. on Thursday, September 10, 2026. WLKI 100.3 reported[1] the details from a DeKalb County Sheriff's Office crash report narrative.
The update is the identification of the worker's employer. Investigators determined that Troy Hanna, 44, of Garrett, was working for Washler Inc. as a trash collector. WOWO[2] and 21Alive[3] carried the same account.
According to WLKI, Hanna was attempting to cross the road from behind his garbage truck when a 2012 Honda CR-V driven by Janice Kever, 76, of Harlan struck him. WLKI reported that Kever told deputies she did not see Hanna until after the collision. Kever was not injured.
Hanna suffered a broken leg and a laceration to the back of his head and was bleeding from the head when responders arrived, WLKI reported. Parkview EMS transported him. No named source identified the hospital that received him. The Honda sustained more than 1,000 dollars in damage.
The DeKalb County Sheriff's Office investigated. The Spencerville Fire Department, Concord Fire Department, Parkview EMS and Hicksville Rescue Squad responded, and DeKalb County Central Communications handled the call. No citation against the driver has been reported. No source described the garbage truck's lights, cones or signage, and no agency has published a fault determination.
What an injured worker should do next
A worker injured on a public road may have two separate claims. An Indiana worker hurt while performing job duties may have a workers' compensation claim through the employer and a separate injury claim against a responsible driver. The claims follow different rules and deadlines, so they should be evaluated separately and coordinated carefully. You can read more about the relationship between workers' compensation and third-party claims.
Report the injury to the employer promptly and in writing. A documented report can help prevent later disagreement about when the employer received notice and what was reported.
Workers' compensation payments may also affect a third-party recovery. If the compensation carrier pays medical bills or wage benefits, it may assert a statutory lien against money recovered from another responsible party. That issue should be reviewed before any third-party settlement is accepted.
Preserve photographs and records showing the work vehicle's position and warning setup. In this case, the published account does not say what lights, cones or signs were displayed. Those facts may affect what an approaching driver could see and how fault is evaluated. General guidance about preserving records, photographs and electronic information is available in the firm's guide to evidence after an Indiana crash.
Obtain the crash report rather than relying only on news coverage. It may contain recorded statements, measurements and vehicle positions. The investigating agency's crash report can usually be obtained after the investigation, but a police report is not a determination of civil liability. The process is explained in this guide to obtaining an Indiana crash report.
Do not assume that the absence of a citation decides responsibility. A law enforcement decision about a citation is separate from the civil process used to determine fault and damages.
Why the location and deadlines matter
The crash occurred in the 7800 block of County Road 68 east of Spencerville in DeKalb County. The DeKalb County Sheriff's Office investigated. Both the injured worker and the driver were reported to live in the region, in Garrett and Harlan respectively.
Most Indiana personal injury claims must be filed within two years of the injury under Ind. Code 34-11-2-4. A workers' compensation claim follows separate requirements, so the two matters should not be managed on a single calendar.
Indiana's Comparative Fault Act, Ind. Code 34-51-2-6, assigns percentages of responsibility. An injured person whose fault is greater than 50 percent recovers nothing. If that person's fault is 50 percent or less, the recovery is reduced by the assigned percentage. Insurance companies may aggressively defend a claim by arguing that a pedestrian entered a place where the driver could not see the person. The driver's statement, the truck's position, warning devices and other scene evidence may become hotly contested.
Indiana's minimum auto liability limits are 25,000 dollars per person and 50,000 dollars per accident for bodily injury, plus 25,000 dollars for property damage, under Ind. Code 9-25-4-5. Indiana insurers must offer uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage under Ind. Code 27-7-5-2. Whether personal or employer-related coverage applies depends on the policy language and facts. The firm's guide to uninsured and underinsured accident claims explains these coverage questions in plain language.
The employer identified in the reporting is a private company, not a municipal department. The Indiana Tort Claims Act notice periods generally concern claims against government entities: 180 days for a city, county, town or other political subdivision under Ind. Code 34-13-3-8, and 270 days for the State under Ind. Code 34-13-3-6.
How Delventhal Law Office can help
Delventhal Law Office, LLC is a Fort Wayne personal injury firm founded by attorney Chad E. Delventhal in 2009. The firm represents people hurt by carelessness on the road, including workers injured while performing job duties in or beside traffic, and serves communities across northeast Indiana.
Delventhal Law Office can obtain and review the crash report, coordinate a workers' compensation matter with a third-party injury claim, identify potentially available insurance, address a compensation carrier's lien and explain how comparative fault may apply. If you need advice about your own circumstances, you can request a free case evaluation.
This post is based on public reporting, the investigation may be ongoing, and nothing here is legal advice or creates an attorney-client relationship.
