An Illinois woman
was killed on Monday in a two-vehicle crash on an I-65 off-ramp in Jasper
County, the Indiana State Police said.
The victim was
identified as Michele Pavesich, 45, of New Lenox, Ill.
According to
police, at 1:09 p.m. Benjamin Griffin, 43, also of New Lenox, was southbound
on I-65 with Pavesich as his front-seat passenger when, at the Resselaer/Remington
exit, he got off the interstate, then ran the stop sign at the intersection
of U.S. Highway 231 and was struck by a utility truck northbound on U.S. 231
and driven by Joseph J. Linback, 19, of Brook, Ind.
Pavesich was
pronounced dead at the scene of blunt force trauma. Griffin and his backseat
passenger and daughter, Savannah, 8, both sustained serious injuries and
were transported to Jasper County Hospital, police said. Griffin was
subsequently airlifted to Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove,
Ill., and Savannah to the University of Chicago Pediatric Hospital in
Chicago.
Linback was taken
to Jasper County Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Griffin’s Ford
F-350 truck was pulling a trailer hauling a pair of John Deere Gator utility
vehicles when he hit Griffin’s Mitsubishi on the passenger’s side, police
said. On impact, the F-350 spun and came to a stop, facing south, in the
grassy area off the east shoulder of U.S. 231. In the process, the two
Gators were thrown free, one landing in the roadway, the other in the grassy
area to the east. Griffin’s Mitsubishi also came to rest in the grassy area,
police said.