Valparaiso man found dead in wreckage off U.S. 6

JACKSON TOWNSHIP | A Valparaiso man may have been dead for hours before the wreckage of his pickup truck was found Monday morning, police said.

Officers were called to the 200 block of East U.S. 6 Shortly before 10 a.m. Monday after a parcel delivery driver found evidence of a crash, Porter County sheriff's police said.

Police said they found a yellow 2004 Chevrolet pickup truck in an embankment off the north side of the road. Initial reports suggest the truck was headed east when it left the road and struck a tree head-on.

Officers said Barry Yarbrough, 41, of Valparaiso, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police believe speed was a factor in the crash. The Porter County coroner's office is conducting a toxicology test to see if drugs or alcohol were involved in the crash.

From initial observations, police believe the crash may have occurred hours before it was discovered.