U.S. 31 is open to traffic again in Marshall County after a four-vehicle crash early this morning claimed a life.
It happened at the intersection of 12th Road near Plymouth just before 6:30 this morning, according to the Indiana State Police.
Investigators say a silver Volkswagen Beetle driven by 51-year-old Robert Brown of Plymouth was eastbound on 12th Road and the U.S. 31 crossover and reportedly pulled into the path of a green Saturn car. The driver, 50-year-old Rodney Gross of Rochester hit the Volkswagen, sending it into the east ditch and leaving the Saturn disabled in the middle of the highway.
The Saturn was struck two more times by passing vehicles before it came to rest in the east ditch. A blue Ford, driven by 49-year-old Dale Tafelski, of Rochester, hit it and sent the Ford into the center median. 
The last collision occurred when the Saturn was struck by a Dodge Ram pickup truck pulling a cattle trailer driven by 77-year-old Lawrence Carrico of Rochester. The pickup came to rest next to the Saturn in the ditch. The steer in the cattle trailer was not injured.
Gross, who was driving the Saturn, was airlifted to South Bend Memorial Hospital for unspecified serious injuries. His passenger, 56-year-old Raymond Lewis, of Rochester, was killed in the crash.
Tafelski, who was driving the Ford, was taken to Saint Joseph Plymouth Medical Center for treatment of unknown injuries. Neither Brown and nor Carrico were injured.
The crash remains under investigation. Authorities do not believe alcohol was a factor. The road reopened to traffic at 11 a.m.
