INDEPENDENCE, Ky. — A 17-year-old high school student was killed after falling out of a motor vehicle in Independence, Kentucky this weekend.
Independence police said Reuben Hinsdale was in a car with 2 other juveniles Saturday night near 355 Independence Station Road when he died. When WCPO 9 News reached out Monday morning for details about the incident, Independence police told us there was a single-vehicle crash, but police later told us he somehow fell out of his car. They said the car was traveling the speed limit.
Investigators were unable to provide an exact time of the incident but said it likely occurred between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.
Police said Hinsdale was the only person killed. The other people in the car were not injured.
TONIGHT: This is Reuben Hinsdale. He would have started his senior year at Simon Kenton HS tomorrow. He did JROTC work at Scott HS too.
— Evan Millward (@EvanMillward) August 16, 2022
He died this weekend after police say he fell from a car.
I just sat down with his mom - how he's serving even after his death - on @WCPO pic.twitter.com/QruuQvuBCi
A fundraiser for Hinsdale'sburial expenses was created Sunday by family member Megan Etheridge and has already raised more than $14,000.
Etheridge said Hinsdale's organs will be donated.
"We do take comfort that his donation will keep him alive in the lives he is now able to save," Etheridge wrote on the Gofundme page.
Etheridge said the 17-year-old was active in the ROTC and had dreamed of pursuing a career in the military.
"Reuben loved horses and working the family farm with his dad. Often spending his time riding the tractor and bailing hay," Etheridge wrote. "He was no stranger to working hard."
According to Etheridge, he also loved country music and playing the guitar.
Jessica Dykes, the Director of Public Information and Community Engagement with the Kenton County School District, told WCPO that Hinsdale was a Kenton County Schools student but would not confirm where he attended school.
Police said the cause of the crash is still under investigation.
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