A Portage teenager and an 85-year-old Greencastle, Ind., woman were killed in a head-on collision early Tuesday that also injured a local 12-year-old, according to the Porter County coroner.
According to a coroner’s report, Amera Abu-Hakmeh, 17, of Portage, and Gayle Brown, of Greencastle, were killed when Brown’s westbound 2012 Buick Regal crossed the center line on U.S. 20, about 500 feet east of Clem Road, and hit the 2002 Mitsubishi Eclipse Abu-Hakmeh was driving.
Authorities said a child in Abu-Hakmeh’s car was injured in the crash and transported to Comer Children’s Hospital in Chicago, where she was in critical but stable condition Tuesday.
In a statement following the crash, Duneland Schools Superintendent Ginger Bolinger did not identify Abu-Hakmeh by name, but she described her as a senior band student and her passenger as a seventh-grade student. Bolinger also indicated the school’s band director assisted in counseling students after the fatal crash.
Bolinger described Duneland schools as “a gathering place and mirror the patchwork of our communities” and grieved “the loss of this wonderful student and offer our prayers and support for the family.”
The accident was the third fatal crash and Abu-Hakmeh and Brown were the third and fourth fatalities in less than two weeks in the city, said Police Chief Troy Williams.
Just under two weeks ago, Portage police responded to a fatal crash involving a pickup truck and a motorcycle, and, last weekend, police investigated a hit-and-run incident involving a pickup truck and a pedestrian.
Portage police’s crash investigation team took measurements, identified a debris trail and interviewed witnesses, he said. The investigation continued Tuesday afternoon, Williams said.
Michael Gonzalez is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.