HOBART, Ind. (WRTV) — Three juveniles, all not wearing seat belts, died early Friday morning after the driver of their vehicle fell asleep on Interstate 65 and crashed into a parked semi.
Indiana State Police were called to the scene on I-65 near Hobart around midnight, soon learning a Ford Explorer, going a high rate of speed, had rear-ended a white Freightliner semi with an attached box trailer.
The semi had been parked on the shoulder at the time of the crash due to mechanical problems.
According to state police, the driver of the Explorer, 31-year-old Renee Foster of Gary, had been driving southbound on I-65 when she fell asleep and veered off the road.
The SUV sustained “catastrophic damage,” resulting in significant damage to the trailer and the deaths of three children.
A juvenile passenger sitting unrestrained in the front seat was ejected from the vehicle. The two other juveniles, sitting without their seat belts in the backseat, also died.
A fourth juvenile, seated in the third row of the Explorer – also not wearing their seat belt – was severely injured. Medics flew them by helicopter to the University of Chicago for treatment. Police described their injuries as “potentially life-threatening.”
Foster received injuries to her upper body and was rushed to a hospital in Crown Point for treatment; the semi driver was unharmed.
Results from the blood draws of both drivers are still pending, but ISP says they believe alcohol is a factor in the crash.
Foster has been preliminarily charged with four counts of neglect of a dependent, reckless driving, driving with a suspended license, and four counts of violating child restraint rules, which is an infraction.
As of noon Friday, Foster was still in the hospital and has not been arrested.
