FRANKLIN TWP — The Darke County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the cause of an accident that claimed the lives of a brother and sister Monday night.

At approximately 7:47 p.m. Monday, the Darke County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call reporting a serious crash at Gettysburg-Pitsburg Road and Neff Road in Franklin Township. The location of the crash was 3.5 miles south of the village of Gettysburg, Ohio. Darke County Deputies, Gettysburg Fire and Rescue and Arcanum Rescue units responded.

The preliminary investigation revealed a 2016 Volvo tractor trailer driven by James Dunkel, 64, of LaGrange, Indiana, was turning south onto Gettysburg-Pitsburg Road from Neff Road when a northbound 1997 Honda sedan driven by Hudson Nestor, 17, of Bradford, Ohio, drove under the trailer and continued north off the right side of the road, striking a tree.

Hudson and his 13-year-old sister, Katlynn Nestor, a passenger in the Honda sedan, were both pronounced dead at the scene. There were no other occupants in the Honda sedan. The two were students at nearby Franklin-Monroe Schools. Dunkel, the driver of the tractor trailer, was not injured in the crash and was the single occupant of that vehicle.

Darke County Coroner, Dr. Timothy Kathman, and his chief investigator responded to the scene. The Darke County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Crash Reconstruction team also responded the scene. The cause of the fatal crash remains under investigation by both agencies.

At the conclusion of the investigation the case will be forwarded to the Darke County Prosecutor’s Office for review. No charges or citations have been issued at this time.