GARY- Saturday at approximately 3:50 a.m., a two-vehicle crash eastbound on I-80 near the 8.4-mile marker east of Burr Street and west of Grant Street claimed the life of a Merrillville woman.
A preliminary investigation by Master Trooper McFarrin and Trooper Garcia reported that a silver Hyundai Santa Fe rear-ended a white Lazy Boy box truck in the right center lane.
Investigators report the Hyundai was traveling at a very high rate of speed at the time of the initial impact with the box truck. The box truck lost control and crashed into the center median wall, knocking down a light pole. The box truck crossed all travel lanes before crashing into the right ditch.
After the initial impact, the Hyundai driver was ejected from the vehicle, which continued to travel east for approximately a quarter of a mile before coming to an uncontrolled stop.
The driver of the Hyundai was ejected and passed away at the scene. She has been identified as Darya J. Foster, 25, from Merrillville, Indiana. The Lake County Coroner’s Office notified her family.
The driver and passenger of the box truck were transported to Methodist Northlake Hospital for their non-life-threatening injuries.
Due to the large crash scene, the roadway was intermittently closed for several hours for crash reconstruction and scene clean-up.
