ORLAND, Ind. — A van full of international students from Bowling Green State University in Ohio overturned on a snow-covered highway early Wednesday, killing two.
The rental van, with six people inside, rolled several times and landed on its roof in the median of the Indiana Toll Road in northeastern Indiana, state police Cpl. Derek Fisher said.
The two students killed — women ages 25 and 26 — were thrown from the van, he said. One victim was found under the vehicle and one was struck by another car. Two other students in the van, both men, suffered minor head injuries.
The group was returning to Ohio from a trip to Chicago over the holiday break, said Teri Sharp, a Bowling Green State University spokeswoman. Additional details weren’t immediately available.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with them, with the other five students involved in the accident, and with our international community in this time of sadness,” school president Sidney Ribeau said in a statement.
While the road was snowy when the crash happened about 12:20 a.m., Fisher could not say whether the weather had contributed to the crash.
All of the van’s occupants were in their mid-20s.
Orland Fire Department spokesman Kim Norton said crews used a winch to roll the van upright and found one of the victims underneath the vehicle.
The second victim was struck by another vehicle in the westbound lanes, Fisher said.
© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
