Two people in an extended family returning to the Chicago area from a Georgia kite-flying convention died when a tractor-trailer hit their full size passenger van on an Indiana interstate, police said.
In addition to killing the two people, the crash injured 16 people in the van and the driver of the truck.
It happened about 3:30 a.m. near the town of Edinburgh, about 30 miles southeast of Indianapolis, Shelby County, Indiana, police said.
Weather appeared to be a factor in the crash, but investigators were still trying to determine what role it played in the crash.
The van was returning to the Chicago area from an event in the Atlanta area, carrying a family that included both children and adults, according to Shelby County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Travis A. Maloney. Some of those injured in the van received only scratches, while others were seriously injured, he said in an e-mail.
Both the van, a 2010 full size Chevrolet passenger van, and the truck, a blue 2007 Freightliner, were headed north on Interstate 65 when the van tried to pull onto the shoulder, witnesses told police. A witness told police the blue truck was weaving on the road just before the crash. The truck appears to have struck the van from the rear and forced it from the roadway, causing it to turn over, according to evidence police gathered at the scene.
A motorist called 911 about 3:30 a.m. and told the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department about the crash, Maloney said in a press release.
Two people in the van were declared dead on the scene, and the other 16 were taken to three area hospitals, Maloney said. The truck driver was taken to a nearby hospital with minor injuries.
Blood samples were taken from both drivers following the crash and sent to the Indiana State Department of Toxicology, according to Maloney.
No further information on the victims was being released early this afternoon, Maloney said in an e-mail.
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