Josh Mosier of Laurel has reached a settlement with Franklin County following the 2020 drowning death of his daughters, 4-year-old KyLee and 7-year-old Elysium. Details of the settlement were withheld, but the county's insurance has paid at least $1.3 million.

Franklin County faced tragedy on Friday, March 20, when the Sanes Creek bridge was washed away due to significant flooding, and resulted in the horrible loss of six lives.

KyLee, Elysium, their 13-year-old half-brother Ethan and their mother Felina Lewis drowned after their vehicle swept away from the Sanes Creek bridge when Lewis was on her way to drop off her children at the babysitter's home. 

KyLee and Elysium's father, Josh Mosier, lived near the creek and found his daughter's bodies, but they had already passed away.

Shawn Roberts and Burton Spurlock also died that day after the floodwaters carried away their vehicle.

Josh Mosier filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Franklin County and the sheriff's department on Jan.11, 2021, alleging they were negligent when they failed to notify the traveling public about the washed-out Sanes Creek bridge and roadway.

A tragic accident that devastated families, friends and an entire community proved preventable.  

March 20, 2020
A press release issued by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources on Friday, March 20, stated, "A search was underway after floodwaters swept two vehicles off the roadway near Laurel. 

Franklin County 911 received a call from a witness who reported seeing headlights off the roadway and hearing calls for help coming from an area near the intersection of Sanes Creek and Tee Hill roads. 

Responding authorities discovered the bridge over Sanes Creek had been partially washed away. An initial search located one vehicle, and a second vehicle was located a short time later. At that time, responders had recovered four deceased victims and believed two individuals were still missing."

By 3 p.m. on Friday, all victims had been recovered except one, but search parties were suspended for the night due to darkness and were scheduled to resume at 9 a.m. the next morning. Before search parties were dispatched on March 21, the last victim was recovered from the same area the other victims were found the previous day.

Pictures released of Sanes Creek bridge brought speculation among community members about what happened that morning when the victims attempted to cross the bridge, which pictures show was nonexistent.

"That bridge essentially was washed away," IDNR Detective Thomas stated during an interview on March 21, 2020. "I am not the lead investigator, and I know they will be working on this for days to come, but the pictures I have seen, yeah, that bridge just washed away. You can imagine with some water, a lot of people would think there is concrete underneath, and they could go on through. With it being dark and five in the morning, they probably didn't think anything about it."

Thomas was one of the first on scene and sadly stated, "the loss of life is always tough, but it is devastating to lose children."

The initial press release from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources stated, "Franklin County 911 received a call from a witness who reported seeing headlights off the roadway and hearing calls for help coming from an area near the intersection of Sanes. Creek and Tee Hill roads." 

It was later determined that calls had been received by 911 nearly two hours before Lewis and her children were swept away. The first call came in at approximately 3:17 a.m. from a woman who lives near the bridge.

• 911 Operator: 911 what's your emergency?

• Caller: Uh, Sanes Creek Road is flooded.

• 911 Operator: OK, is there an emergency? Is someone stuck?

• Caller: No, we was just going down the hill, and we turned around, but yeah it's flooded bad.
Another caller contacted 911 an hour later, at around 4:18 a.m.

• Caller: The bridge here on Sanes Creek at the bottom of Sanes Creek hill is completely washed out. It's gone on one side. Somebody better get down here and block it off before someone goes into the river.

• 911 Operator: OK, I'll let them know.

• Caller: Thanks.

A third person called the Franklin County Sheriff's Department at 4:46 a.m. after her son had trouble getting to work.

Caller: The water is so deep. He drives a red GMC truck. He said the water is so deep, it went halfway up his headlights, and it is moving very fast and almost took him down the creek.

Roughly 12 hours after the tragedy, a call was obtained from March 20, at 5:13 p.m. The call was from Franklin County Chief Deputy Greg Mehlbauer to dispatch to have one of the employees review the call log.

Mehlbauer asked if anyone had reported the bridge was out during the call.

• Mehlbauer: God help whoever didn't pass that on if it's in there.

• Dispatcher: Wait, there was a call at 4:18. It says advise the bridge on Sanes Creek Road is completely washed away.

• Mehlbauer: What did they do with it?

• Dispatcher: It looks like it was made an I-call.

• Mehlbauer: Are you (expletive) kidding me?

In an October deposition as part of Mosier's wrongful death lawsuit, Franklin County 911 Supervisor Jon Hundley's testimony further supported these deaths were preventable.

Hundley testified it is the policy for county highway and a sheriff's deputy to be notified if a deputy is available.

But that didn't happen.

Hundley testified a dispatch trainee and her supervisor heard the 4:18 a.m. call about 40 minutes before Felina Lewis' van went into the creek.

But they did not let anyone know, court documents allege. Instead, Hundley testified someone working in the call center consciously converted the 4:18 a.m. call to an I-call.

The lawsuit also alleged the 911 dispatchers were posting to social media when the calls about the bridge came in.

County Commissioner Tom Linked issued a public statement soon after the tragedies, sharing an update on the bridge investigation that the county engineer and consultant were doing. 

"The Franklin County Commissioners, on behalf of the county, are terribly saddened by the loss of life that occurred at the bridge on Sanes Creek on Friday, March 20. The bridge itself did not collapse, but one approach was washed away when the creek effectively re-routed itself. The County Engineer and USI (the county's consultant) are presently investigating the exact causes and circumstances of the incident and the bridge's condition. We are also trying to determine what will need to be done to re-open the bridge to the public. Since the east approach to the bridge was washed away entirely, the road will likely be closed for some time. For the safety of all, please avoid the area entirely while the bridge is closed. The bridge on Sanes Creek was inspected in October of 2018, did not have any significant structural defects at the time, and was not due for a re-inspection. At this time, the county plans to rebuild the approach and have the bridge re-inspected to ensure its safety before re-opening. The bridge may re-open temporarily with reduced weight limits if it can be done safely.

The county is also aware of numerous other bridges that saw high water and debris. We have been sending crews to remove debris and make temporary repairs, but the public is encouraged to report any situation they believe could present a hazard."

A lawsuit filed on behalf of Ethan Williams settled for $625,000.The families of other victims, including Shawn Roberts, Burton Spurlock and Felina Lewis, have filed separate lawsuits against Franklin County and those lawsuits are still pending.

A memorial alongside the creek serves as a reminder of what happened that day.

The victim's families and community members have continued to raise awareness about needed changes that could save someone else's life.