ARCANUM — Darke County Deputies are investigating a Saturday morning crash that has left a Union, Ohio man dead.

At approximately 11:30 a.m., the Arcanum Fire Department responded along with Arcanum Rescue, Tri-Village Rescue and deputies from the Darke County Sheriff’s Department to the area of State Route 722 and Loop Road in reference to a single-vehicle injury accident.

According to the Darke County Sheriff’s Department, a preliminary investigation into the incident has revealed that a silver 2005 Ford Escape driven by Paul Sweda, 47, of Union, Ohio, was traveling westbound on State Route 722 when the driver, for unknown reasons, lost control of the vehicle and left the right side of the roadway coming to rest after striking a tree head-on. The male driver of the vehicle, who was unrestrained at the time of the accident, was extricated from the vehicle by the Arcanum Fire Department and later pronounced dead at the scene.

The Darke County Accident Reconstruction Team was requested to the scene as well as the Darke County Coroner’s Office to aid in the investigation of the crash.

The incident remains under investigation by the Darke County Sheriff’s Office. This marks the first fatal crash in Darke County for 2020.