SALEM TOWNSHIP, IN (WTVB) – A teenager was killed and three others were injured Wednesday afternoon in a two vehicle crash at the intersection of State Road 327 and County Road 250 South in Steuben County.
The Steuben County Sheriff’s Department says in a news release that the crash involving a semi-tractor trailer and a passenger vehicle took place just before 4:30 p.m..
When deputies and first responders arrived, they found four teenage crash victims inside a silver Ford SUV who appeared to be trapped and critically injured.
Sheriff’s deputies assisted crews from the Salem Township and Stroh Fire Departments with extricating the victims from the SUV and getting them to the ambulance crews for treatment.
The Sheriff’s Department says according to their preliminary investigation, it appears the SUV which was driven by 18-year-old Lucas Corber of Fremont, Indiana failed to yield the right of way at the intersection and drove into the path of the semi which was driven by 56-year-old Kim Whipple of Portage, Indiana.
Whipple was unable to avoid the collision and struck the SUV broad side. Whipple was not injured in the crash.
The three passengers in the Ford Escape were identified as 18-year-old Hayden Pelletier and 16-year-old Evander Pelletier both of Fremont and 16-year-old Nitika Smith of LaGrange, Indiana.
Both Pelletiers along with Corber were flown from the scene by Samaritan and Lutheran Air helicopters to Parkview Regional Medical Center in Fort Wayne in critical condition. Smith was pronounced dead at the scene as a result of the crash.
The Sheriff’s Department first reported there was no indication that seat belts were in use in the Corber vehicle. But they issued a statement on Thursday that said after further investigation and examination of crash related evidence, it was determined that three of the four occupants of the Ford Escape were wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. The fatal victim was one of the three seat belted occupants. The crash remains under investigation.
Assisting at the scene were the Steuben County Coroner’s Office, Steuben County EMS, Salem Township Fire Department, Stroh Fire Department, Samaritan Helicopter, Lutheran Air Helicopter, Angola Police, Indiana State Police, and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Law Enforcement Division.
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