Teen girl struck, killed while riding bike in northern Indiana

LAGRANGE COUNTY, Ind. (WANE) A 13-year-old girl was killed early Wednesday when she was struck by a passing vehicle as she rode her bicycle west of LaGrange.

Police and medics were called just before 8 a.m. Wednesday to a stretch of C.R. 050 North near C.R. 250 West on a report that a vehicle crashed with a bicycle. Responders arrived to find 13-year-old Lovina Schwartz down.

Schwartz was airlifted to a Fort Wayne hospital, where she died.

Investigators said a 2011 GMC driven by 37-year-old Benjamin A. Hanlon of Middlebury was headed eastbound on 050 North near 250 West when he struck Schwartz on her also-eastbound bicycle. LaGrange County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Aaron Knisley said “blinding sunlight” contributed to the crash.

The incident remains under investigation.