Two teenagers were seriously injured in a Thursday morning crash in LaPorte County.
Officers were called to the 8600 East block of U.S. 20 around 6:20 a.m. That’s just west of the St. Joseph county line.
Once on scene, it appeared to investigators that a silver Ford Taurus allegedly crossed the center line. According to information released by the Sheriff’s Department, the Taurus was traveling eastbound on U.S. 20 before striking the side of an oncoming semi-tractor trailer.
LaPorte authorities say they continue to investigate why the passenger car may have crossed the center line in the first place.
It took about 20 minutes to extricate both 19-year-old David Ferguson of New Carlisle, identified as the driver, and 18-year-old Tara Fletcher of LaPorte from the car. Both were wearing seatbelts at the time, but they were transported to Memorial Hospital in South Bend for treatment of their injuries. The LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department is describing their ailments as serious at this time.
Portions of U.S. 20 were closed while clean-up and investigation of the scene was ongoing. The road was reopened to traffic around 9:00 a.m. on Thursday.
