Merrillville woman died in traffic accident on I-80 on Saturday

A Merrillville woman died in an accident on Interstate 80 in Gary early Saturday morning after colliding with a box truck, police said.

On Sept. 7, around 3:50 a.m., a two-vehicle crash occurred eastbound on I-80 near the 8.4 mile marker, east of Burr Street and west of Grant Street in Gary, according to a news release from the Indiana State Police Lowell Post.

A preliminary investigation revealed that a silver Hyundai Santa Fe struck a white Lazy Boy van in the right-middle lane. Initial indications indicate that the Hyundai was traveling at a very high rate of speed at the time of impact with the van, police said.

The van went out of control and struck the median wall, knocking down a light pole. The van then crossed all lanes before crashing into the right ditch. After the initial impact, the driver of the Hyundai was ejected from the vehicle and the Hyundai continued east for about a quarter mile before coming to an uncontrolled stop, police said.

The driver of the Hyundai was ejected from the car and died at the scene. She was identified as Darya J. Foster, 25, of Merrillville, Indiana.

Police say her family has been notified by the Lake County Coroner. The driver and passenger of the van were taken to Methodist Northlake Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Due to the large accident site, the road was temporarily closed for several hours for accident reconstruction and accident cleanup.

Originally published: September 8, 2024 at 9:54 am