BY JOHN REED LEADER EDITOR
KINGSFORD HEIGHTS — Weather and mechanical failure are being blamed for an acicdent which claimed the life of Stephen Toth, a well-known Hamlet resident.
Toth, 60, was pronounced dead at the scene of an 11:41 a.m. accident on Friday, May 2, on U.S. 35 north of LaPorte County Road 700 South.
According to police reports, Toth was driving south in his 2008 Dodge Ram pickup during extremely heavy rain. At the same time, a U.S. Army transport truck was headed north on U.S. 6.

The passenger in the Army truck, Shawn Hoffman, 24, of Valparaiso, said he heard a pop and a hissing sound like an air hose had broken. The Army truck hydroplaned and Hoffman told the driver to head for a field on  the west side of the road.
Hoffman said Toth was also steering his pickup to the west side of the road. The Army truck struck the pickup and then rolled, coming to rest on its right side.
Hoffman was able to pull his driver, Matthew Cory, 19, of South Bend, from the truck. He then attempted to extricate Toth, but was unable to help him and believed he was dead.
Cory was unable to be interviewed because of his condition. Hoffman also was injured, suffering a fractured arm. Both were taken to LaPorte Hospital for treatment.
Officers still were at the scene investigating when another Army officer pulled up.
The officer, from Springfield, Ohio, was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.
He refused a breathalyzer test, but police said they detected alcohol on his breath and found open bottle of vodka in his vehiclex.
Accident reconstruction is being conducted by the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department. Police confirmed a hose line was blown out on the Army truck.
The Army truck is listed as a two-axle vehicle and based at a U.S. Army facility in Hobart.
Toth was a retired electrician with NIPSCO. He was a member of the Knox United Methodist Church, the United Steel Workers Union, the LaPorte County Farm Bureau and the Starke County CO-OP.