Lake County/Merrillville- A Portage man died in a crash that occurred on I-65 when he had to swerve to avoid a car that came into his lane of travel.
Preliminary investigation by Indiana State Police Trooper Josh Roa revealed that at approximately 4:22 p.m., this Friday, June 5th, 2015, afternoon, a 2003 Buick Rendezvous, driven by Jose Duran, 73 of Portage, was south bound on I-65 at the 254.4 mile marker (this is just south of the 61st Avenue exit) in the right lane. An unidentified car that was in the middle lane tried to come over into the right lane causing Duran to take evasive action from being hit.
Duran swerved, overcorrected, lost control, and went off the roadway into a ditch on the west side going sideways; this caused the Rendezvous to roll over approximately 3x and come to rest back on I-65 in the right lane on its top. Duran was entrapped inside the SUV and had to be extricated.
Jose Duran was taken to North Lake Methodist Hospital in Gary where he died of his injuries. His wife, Luz Duran, 69 of Portage, a front seat passenger, was also taken to North Lake Methodist where she was treated for non-life threatening injuries. Fermin Duran, 76 visiting from Ecuador, brother of Jose, and a back seat passenger was also treated at North Lake Methodist for non-life threatening injuries. All occupants were wearing seat belts.
The left lane was open for traffic during the investigation. All lanes were reopened at 6:20 p.m.
Assisting: Troopers Danielle Elwood and Khari Walton, Indiana Department of Transportation Hoosier Helpers, Merrillville Police, Fire and EMS and Waffco Towing
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All criminal defendants are to be presumed innocent until, and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
WOJAS
