(LAGRANGE) - Alcohol is believed to be a factor in a head-on crash that claimed the life of a LaGrange man on Saturday, October 18. Indiana State Police have charged 26-year-old Juan Diaz Perez of Elkhart in the death of 73-year-old James Eash of Shipshewana. Diaz Perez is charged with Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated - Causing Death (a Level 4 Felony), Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated - Endangerment (a Class A Misdemeanor), and Operating a Vehicle Without Ever Obtaining a License (a Class C Misdemeanor). The incident occurred on County Road 1000 West near State Road 120.
The Indiana State Police were assisted at the scene by the LaGrange County Sheriff's Department, Shipshewana Police Department, Shipshewana Fire Department, and Parkview EMS.