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One person is dead and several more are injured after an van pulled into the path of a westbound semi-tractor trailer in heavy fog on U.S. 30 this morning.
According to Kosciusko County Sheriff's Deputy Chad Hill, around 7:27 a.m. today, the van, which was southbound on CR 800W, entered the westbound lane of U.S. 30 in the path of the oncoming semi-tractor trailer. The truck swerved to miss the van, but caught the rear portion, spinning and flipping the van on its top.
At least two people were ejected from the van, but when police officials arrived, three people were lying on the ground in the median of U.S. 30. Officers were not sure if the third person was ejected from the van. The standard conversion van was carrying at least 14, possibly 15, passengers.
One of the ejected passengers, a Hispanic woman, was pronounced dead at Kosciusko Community Hospital from injuries suffered in the accident.
The names of victims are not being released pending the notification of family members. All are believed to be from Wisconsin.
The Samaritan Air Ambulance was called to the scene, but the dense fog made landing difficult. Police officials shut down both lanes of U.S. 30, the Samaritan found a hole in the clouds and landed on the highway away from the scene of the crash. After picking up the patient, the Samaritan went back above the clouds and transported at least one patient to Fort Wayne for treatment.
"We are not sure if one or two people were taken to Fort Wayne in the Samaritan," said Hill.
One of the ejected passengers, a Hispanic woman, was pronounced dead at Kosciusko Community Hospital from injuries suffered in the accident.
"There were a couple people with minor scratches, but they refused treatment," said Hill. "Everyone was transported to KCH in vans to keep them together until they figured out what to do at that point."
The names of victims are not being released pending the notification of family members. All are believed to be from Wisconsin.
"A lot of the people had Mexican ID cards showing they were legal to work in this country," said Hill. "Some of them had Wisconsin ID cards as well. We are not sure where they were going or what they were doing at this point."
A witness to the accident and Warsaw Police Officer David Morales helped translate statements for the non-English speaking victims at the scene.
As mandated by the state, all parties involved will be tested for alcohol. Fog is believed to be a major factor in the crash.
The accident is under investigation by the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department and Indiana State Police.
