This morning (9/7/2024) at approximately 3:50 a.m., a two-vehicle crash occurred eastbound on I-80 near the 8.4 mile-marker. This location is east of Burr St and west of Grant St.
Preliminary investigation by M/Trp. McFarrin and Trooper Garcia show that a silver Hyundai Santa Fe rear-ended a white Lazy Boy box truck in the right center lane. Initial indications are that the Hyundai was traveling at a very high rate of speed at the time of the initial impact with the box truck. The box truck lost control and crashed into the center median wall, knocking down a light pole. The box truck then crossed all lanes of travel before crashing into the right ditch. After the initial impact, the driver of the Hyundai was ejected from the vehicle, and the Hyundai continued to drive east for approximately a quarter of a mile before it came to an uncontrolled stop.
The driver of the Hyundai was ejected and passed away at the scene. She has been identified as Darya J. Foster, 25, from Merrillville, Indiana. Notification to her family was made by the Lake County Coroner’s Office. The driver and passenger of the box truck were transported to Methodist Northlake Hospital for their non-life-threatening injuries.
The roadway was intermittently closed for several hours for crash reconstruction and scene clean up due to the large crash scene.