May 7, 2009 12:45 pm US/Central
Girl, 10, Airlifted After Morning Borman Wreck
Driver Seriously Injured, Pinned Into Car
HAMMOND, Ind. (CBS) ―
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Firefighters extricate a driver from a car that was violently hit by a semi-trailer truck on Interstate 80-94 in Hammond, Ind.
CBS
A car was brutally damaged early Thursday in a violent, high-speed crash on the Borman Expressway in Northwest Indiana.
A semi-trailer truck slammed into a car around 6:20 a.m. in the westbound lanes of the Borman Expressway (I-80/94) near Calumet Avenue, according to Indiana State Police Corporal Dwayne Dillahunty.
A 1998 Chevrolet Lumina, driven by Tashanda L. Willis, 27, of Gary, was westbound on the Borman just west of Calumet Avenue when for unknown reasons went off the roadway and hit the concrete median barrier wall off the inner shoulder twice, according to Trooper Greg Eckrich.
The Lumina then crossed two westbound lanes of traffic and hit a semi with a rail container trailer driven by Jeffrey A. Blum, 54 of Centreville, Mich., according to a press release. The Lumina was wedged under the trailer and dragged for approximately 226 feet. Blum attempted to avoid the Lumina, then struck another semi.
The driver of the second semi, William J. Carter, 32 of Cincinnati, Ohio, was uninjured.
Zayniah Reese, 10, of Gary, the daughter of Tashanda Willis, was critically injured in the crash and had to be extricated from the Lumina. She was airlifted to the University of Chicago Hospitals for treatment of internal injuries and a broken femur, the release said.
The car was demolished and tangled, and the driver was pinned inside. On the scene around 6:45 a.m., Hammond firefighters were working to extricate the driver. They had to remove the roof and doors, and were also trying to roll the dashboard away.
Willis, whose car was totaled, was taken to the Community Hospital in Munster with minor head and knee injuries. She was cited by the state police.
Immediately after the crash, the entire westbound Borman was shut down between Cline and Calumet avenues.
All lanes except the far left lane were closed until approximately 9:45 a.m., for reconstruction of the crash, removal of the injured and their vehicle, and clean-up of the roadway, the release said.
Blum's semi, 1999 International, is owned by Galaxy Transport. He was hauling 13,000 pounds of plastic fencing. The damage estimate on the semi is $40,000. Carter was driving a 2007 Sterling semi-box trailer containing auto parts, owned by Dedicated Logistics, Saint Paul, Minn. There is approximately $3,000 in damages.
Hammond police, fire and EMS departments assisted.
The STNG Wire contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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