Woman killed in Toll Road crash when driver swerves

A woman was fatally struck by the truck of a Porter man when she was walking outside her disabled vehicle Friday afternoon on the Indiana Toll Road.

Around 4:45 p.m. Friday, Indiana State Police troopers responded to a crash scene involving multiple vehicles at the 0.9 mile marker on Interstate 90 eastbound — east of the Illinois border but before the WestPoint Toll Plaza, according to a release. The preliminary findings of investigators indicate that a gray Nissan SUV may have hydroplaned and struck the concrete barrier between the east and westbound lanes. As a result, the left and center lanes were blocked with the vehicle and debris, police said. The driver of a white Lexus saw the crash, pulling over on the inside shoulder to walk to the crashed Nissan to speak with the driver. The driver of the Nissan asked the witness to call 911 to report the crash, the release states. While he was on the phone to 911, the driver of the Nissan exited her vehicle and began to walk across the road toward the Lexus.

A 55-year-old man driving a blue Ford F250 truck, who was approaching the crash site, apparently made a sudden lane change to the left to avoid the crashed Nissan in the roadway, but the maneuver caused the pickup to hit the driver of the Nissan, then the Lexus, investigators determined. The woman was killed by the impact and was later declared dead at the scene.

The victim was identified as 23-year-old Sarah Herd of Wilmette, Illinois, according to the Lake County Coroner’s Office, and her cause of death was multiple blunt force trauma injuries.

Two occupants in the Lexus were treated for non-life-threatening injuries, while the driver of the Lexus was not injured, police said.

Police initiated an Operating While Intoxicated investigation on the driver of the Ford truck, after they saw signs of impairment and requested the driver to take a certified chemical test. The driver underwent a blood draw for a blood-alcohol test at a hospital — the results of which are unknown — then he was transported to the Lake County Jail, the release states.

The man, who the Post-Tribune is not naming until formally charged, potentially faces multiple OWI charges as well as a reckless driving count.