Elkhart, IN (August 24, 2026) – A 26-year-old motorcyclist has died following a crash with a semitrailer earlier this week, according to the Elkhart Police Department.
Austin Aumack was pronounced dead on Monday, August 24. Officers and first responders had been called to the crash near South Main Street and U.S. 20 the previous Thursday, August 20, around 9 p.m.
Police say an initial investigation found the semi was traveling north on South Main Street and attempting to turn left onto the westbound U.S. 20 ramp when the southbound motorcycle collided with it.
The semi driver, a 41-year-old man, was not injured. The crash remains under investigation by the Elkhart Police Department Crash Reconstruction Team, and no citations have been announced.
This is a developing story. Details may change as the investigation continues.
Motorcycle Accidents Involving Left-Turning Vehicles in Indiana
A vehicle turning left across an oncoming lane is one of the most common ways a motorcyclist ends up seriously hurt, because a car or truck can misjudge a motorcycle’s speed and distance more easily than it would a passenger vehicle.
- Who may be liable: the semi driver, if the driver failed to yield the right of way, or the trucking company, depending on maintenance and training records
- What investigators examine: the ramp’s sight lines, the semi’s turning radius, dashcam footage if available, and any traffic signal timing at the intersection
- Comparative fault: Indiana law (IC 34-51-2) still allows a recovery if a motorcyclist is found partly at fault, as long as that share is less than 51 percent
Police have described the circumstances of the turn but have not assigned fault, so any statement about who caused this crash should be attributed to the ongoing investigation, not treated as settled.
Indiana law generally gives families two years from the date of death to file a wrongful death claim (IC 34-23-1-1). For this crash, that deadline falls on August 24, 2028.
Contact Our Elkhart Motorcycle Accident Attorneys
A four-day wait between a crash and a death is its own kind of grief, and it’s one no family should have to carry alone while also trying to figure out what happened.
Our Elkhart car accident lawyers work closely with an Indiana motorcycle accident attorney‘s eye for how left-turn crashes like this one actually get proven, and we know what a semi’s dispatch and maintenance records can reveal.
Those trucking records do not last indefinitely, so the sooner they’re requested, the more likely they are to still exist.
We work on contingency, with no upfront cost and nothing owed unless we recover for your family.
Why Indiana families trust Langer & Langer:
- Founded in 1980, serving Indiana families for more than 45 years
- 100+ years of combined trial experience among our attorneys
- Free consultations and no fee unless we win your case
