THORNTOWN, Ind. — Three people were injured in a crash involving a van and a backhoe in northern Boone County Tuesday.
The Boone County Sheriff's Office said a van with six teenagers traveling to a volleyball game struck the backhoe at US 52 and CR 650 North, east of Thorntown. The crash happened around 4 p.m. Tuesday.
Multiple people in the van, who were identified as home-schooled students from Lafayette between the ages of 14 and 19, and the driver of the backhoe were reportedly trapped in their vehicles when first responders arrived on the scene.
The 19-year-old driver of the van, identified as Sara Edwards, was taken to an area hospital to be treated for minor injuries. A juvenile in the van was flown to the hospital with what police described as non-life threatening injuries. No one else in the van was injured.
The driver of the backhoe, 80-year-old Edward Shelley of Thorntown, was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
Investigators believe Shelley was traveling east on CR 650 North when he began crossing US 52. The van was traveling south on US 52 when it struck the backhoe. The crash remains under investigation, but drugs or alcohol are not believed to have been a factor in the crash.