Deputy Sheriff John Kormelink was killed in a two-vehicle accident at State Road 54 and State Road 57 east of Switz City.

   He and another deputy were transporting three prisoners when their vehicle, traveling north on State Road 57, collided with a westbound bus from Indiana University at the intersection with State Road 54.

   Deputy Kormelink was killed instantly of a fractured skull and internal injuries. The other deputy, who was driving, was seriously injured as was the 25-year-old driver of the bus without any passengers.

   A 20-year-old prisoner, who had been sentenced to the Indiana Boys' School in Plainfield on assault and battery charges, was seriously injured.

   Two other prisoners, 16 and 17 years old, who had both been sentenced to the Indiana State Farm near Putnamville on auto theft charges, suffered minor injuries.

   Deputy Sheriff Kormelink, from Evansville, was survived by his wife, son, daughter, father and two brothers.

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This officer, discovered in 2021, has not been submitted for consideration as an eligible line of duty death to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund by the Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Department.