(LIGONIER) – Saturday afternoon the Indiana State Police responded to the West Noble Middle School parking lot to investigate a reported vehicle crash involving a pedestrian.
At the time of the incident, the West Noble School Corporation was conducting a weekly food drive on school grounds.
At approximately 2:15 p.m., officers arriving found paramedics ahead of them already tending to a 13-year-old male patient. It was learned that the injured teen was a volunteer who had been loading donated food items into the trunk of a car.
The child’s parents were on scene at the time of the incident, also volunteering, and immediately called for help.
Paramedics transported the child from the scene to Parkview Regional Medical Center with serious but non-life threatening injuries to both legs.
Trooper Justin Snyder who investigated the accident reported the crash occurred in the school parking lot, within the line of vehicles waiting to receive food donations being loaded by volunteer workers.
A Jeep Liberty driven by 84-year-old Alice Johnson of Ligonier pulled up to the line of waiting vehicles and, for an unknown reason, she failed to get her vehicle stopped. The Jeep Liberty crashed into the rear of a Ford Escape passenger car. That impact pushed the Ford Escape passenger car forward, crashing into the rear of a Chevrolet Trailblazer that was being loaded by the 13-year-old volunteer, pinning the child between the two vehicles until help could arrive.
The crash remains under investigation.
Johnson was not immediately cited for a specific violation. Trooper Snyder’s completed investigation will be turned over to the Noble County Prosecutor’s Office for review and determination if charges are to be filed.
Trooper Snyder was assisted at the scene by the Noble County Sheriff’s Dept., Ligonier Police Dept., Parkview EMS, and West Noble School Administration.
