Eugene McCall, Katherine Metzcus, Amber Garner and Keith Halicky Injured In Fatal Crash On Borman Expressway During Rush Hour
On June 12, 2012, at the beginning of rush hour on I-80 in Gary Indiana, DeAndre K. Perry, age 22, from Mishawaka, was driving a moving van which stalled in the middle right lane of the four lane interstate. Then, an unknown semitrailer side-swiped the driver’s side of the stalled vehicle.
Shortly thereafter, Joshua Garner, 20, of Griffiths, Indiana, was driving his 1998 Dodge Dakota extended cab pickup, traveling west on I-80, at 4:59 p.m., west of Central Avenue, near the stalled truck. With his four passengers in the vehicle Garner attempted to change lanes, and in the process rear-ended the stalled van.
The driver, Garner, was pronounced dead at the scene. In addition, each of his four passengers, including Eugene McCall, Katherine Metzcus, Amber Garner, and Keith Halicky, sustained injuries, two of them critical ones.
Eugene McCall, age 20, of Lansing, Illinois, was seated directly behind Joshua Garner, and Katherine Metzcus, age 17, also of Lansing, was sitting in the truck’s rear middle seat, and they both sustained critical, life threatening injuries. In addition, both had to be extracted from the truck, and one had to be helicoptered from the scene.
Amber Garner, age 19, who is Joshua Garner’s sister, was a front seat passenger and is reported to have sustained non-life threatening injuries to her leg. Further, Keith Halicky, who was a rear-seat passenger has been reported to have sustained non-life threatening facial injuries.
Many details of this accident are not known at this time, such as whether Garner or his passengers were wearing their seat belts at the time of the crash. However, the Indiana State Police are reporting that they believe alcohol may have been a factor in the crash.
After the accident all traffic in the westbound lanes were closed for approximately two hours and fifteen minutes.
Starr Austen and Miller, Indiana truck accident lawyers, focus on representing individuals and their family members in serious personal injury and wrongful death cases, such as those often involved in truck accidents. If you have any additional information on this accident, please call Mario Massillamany with the law firm of Starr Austen & Miller at (574) 722-6676.
[Sources: WSBT, Chicago Sun Times, Chesterton Tribune]