An 18-year-old Porter resident died in a crash on the 4th of July, the Portage Department announced on Monday.
On Thursday July 4 at about 1:15 p.m. Officers of the Portage Police Department were dispatched to the intersection of State Road 149 and County Road 1000 North in reference to a roll-over motor vehicle crash. Upon arrival, officers located a Toyota Rav 4 in the ditch on the west side of the road north of this intersection. The juvenile driver of the vehicle was transported from the scene with minor injuries, and he was released from the hospital a short time later. An adult female passenger was discovered in the Toyota who sustained fatal injuries.
The deceased has been identified as 18-year-old Kaelyn Kaszubski of Porter, IN.
The Portage Police Department’s crash reconstruction team responded to the scene and all lanes of State Road 149 were closed for the duration of their investigation.
Police said in a statement, “The initial investigation shows that the Toyota was occupied two times and was traveling northbound on State Road 149 when another vehicle attempted to make a lefthand turn from westbound County Road 1000 North and entered into the path of the Toyota.”
“The driver of the Toyota was able to make an evasive maneuver and avoided striking this second vehicle but lost control and left the west side of the roadway, where it struck several trees, and rolled onto its roof.”
The adult male driver of the westbound vehicle remained at the scene and consented to chemical testing. Police said that it does not appear that drugs or alcohol were contributing factors in this crash.
State Road 149 was reopened to traffic at approximately 5:00 p.m.