The death of a Hancock County woman in a car crash has resulted in the arrest of a Fairland man.

Timothy Merrill, 44, has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, theft and leaving the scene of an accident where the defendant has a prior conviction.

On May 18, New Palestine Police responded to the intersection of U.S. 52 and 600 West for a hit-and-run, rear-end crash.  The driver of the car that was struck from behind, Gerald Jensen, told officers that his car was rear-ended and the driver fled the scene.

Jensen was taking his wife, June, 81, of New Palestine, to a doctor’s appointment and decided to continue that trip after she initially told her husband she was okay.  But later that day June Jensen died.  Cause of death was determined to be a head injury and blunt force trauma.

New Palestine Police asked for the public’s assistance in a social media post on the evening of May 19.  Officers were able to use nearby store video to aid their search and led to Merrill.

After an initial court appearance, Merrill is scheduled to be back in the courtroom next month.