Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
SOUTH WHITLEY - One South Whitley teen is dead and another is hospitalized with serious injuries after a car-train wreck two miles east of the city, according to Whitley County Sheriff's Department.
James K. Hoffman, 18, a passenger in the vehicle, died at the scene. Eric C.W. Lee, 19, South Whitley, the driver of the vehicle, was listed in critical but stable condition at Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne as of late Tuesday.
Both teens were extricated from the car, which was thrown from the track upon impact with an eastbound Norfolk Southern train.
Alcohol or drugs are not suspected in the crash, which occurred about 1 p.m.
According to police, the vehicle was headed south on CR 350W, drove up to the railroad tracks and stopped.
The railroad crossing had no signaling devices or crossing gates. Investigators believe the vehicle started to cross but stopped on the tracks.
The investigation on the crash is continuing.
Hoffman and Lee were students at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne.
