Miami County – Yesterday afternoon at approximately 2:30 p.m., officers from the Indiana State Police, the Peru Police Department, and the Miami County Sheriff’s Department responded to a two vehicle crash on U.S. 31 south of Miami County Road 300 South, which severely injured two people.
Preliminary crash investigation by Indiana State Police Trooper Ezariah Bricknell revealed that a 2007 Chevrolet Impala, driven by Floyd Smith, 17, Kokomo IN, was southbound on U.S. 31 near Miami County Road 300 South. For an undetermined reason, the Impala drove across the median and into the northbound lanes of U.S. 31. The Impala struck a northbound 2013 Ford Edge, driven by Megan Burns, 33, Warsaw, IN.
A passenger in the Impala, Terra Hildebrand, 22, Logansport, IN, was airlifted by helicopter from the crash scene to Lutheran Hospital in Ft. Wayne, with life threatening injuries. This morning Hildebrand succumbed to injuries sustained in the crash. She was not wearing a seatbelt, but Trooper Bricknell believes the crash impact was too severe for it to have saved her life.
Smith was also flown by helicopter to Lutheran Hospital; his current status is not known by investigators. Burns suffered lacerations in the crash. They were each wearing a seatbelt which Trooper Bricknell believes helped prevent them from having more serious injuries.
This is an ongoing investigation.
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