Mother dies in single-car crash on State Road 38 near Lafayette
DAYTON, Ind. (WISH) — A 25-year-old mother died in a Tuesday morning crash in a town near her Lafayette home, police say.
The woman, who had not been publicly identified as of Jan. 1, died at a Franciscan Health hospital in Lafayette. The woman’s name was not public shared as the Tippecanoe County Coroner’s Office worked to identify her and of notify next of kin, the Dayton Police Department said in a news release issued Tuesday afternoon.
The mother’s 3-year-old daughter also was in the single-car crash, the release says. The daughter suffered cuts not believed to be life-threatening.
The crash happened about 8:45 a.m. Tuesday on State Road 38 at Delaware Street on the east side of the town of 1,351 residents. Situated on I-69, Dayton sits off the southeast border of Lafayette. It’s about an hour’s drive northwest of Indianapolis.
Witnesses told investigators that the woman was driving a red 2004 Pontiac Sunfire and reportedly passed another westbound vehicle in a “no passing” zone on a curve on a hill. The woman lost control when approaching an eastbound vehicle, and the car left the south side of the road and struck a tree.
In the release, Town Marshal Robert S. Taylor says Dayton police were assisted by Tippecanoe County Community Corrections, the Sheffield Fire Department, the Lafayette Fire Departments, medics, and the Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Office.
Taylor says the mother and her child were properly restrained in the car.