I think this story is very sad, there a bunch of discrepancies. And I wouldn't be surprised if we hear something that makes us go 'now that figures'.
Yeah, it's always bad when someone gets killed.
Pure speculation until we hear more, but I'd guess there was alcohol involved. First, as mentioned above, who drives their HMMWV at night, right along the bank a river, in the dead of winter in Indiana? Second, who "forgets" they don't have a phone in their house? Lots of other questions... were the headlights on? Were they driving too fast? Were they screwing around?
Another thought: those look like the GSS seats and I don't see the 3-point rear belt towers. I'm wondering if they had four-point harnesses and the wives at least weren't 100% familiar with how they unfasten.
This is a tragedy for sure. I'm skeptical that it will have an impact on the MV community. When I was heavily involved in various Model A clubs there were a number of fatal accidents in the community and there was never any real attempt to do anything about it as far as laws... and that was in the Democratic People's Republic of California, where they believe that a new law will solve ANY problem.