COLUMBUS, Ind. - The Bartholomew County Sheriff's Office (BCSO) said that deputies responded to the 5000 block of E. County Road 600N at around 12:40 p.m. on Monday, after receiving reports of a two-vehicle traffic collision with unknown injuries.
While en route, BCSO received further information that it was a head-on accident with occupants trapped inside each vehicle.
Upon arrival, deputies found the driver and sole occupant of one car deceased. The passenger of the other vehicle was also dead, and the driver was seriously injured. That driver was airlifted to an Indianapolis area hospital in critical condition.
The Bartholomew County Coroner's Office identified the two people killed as Thomas J. Bassett, 43, and Patricia A. Lee, 69, both of Columbus.
The crash remains under investigation by the Bartholomew County Accident Reconstruction Team.

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