Boy, 16, dies after Lowell crash

A teenage boy died Friday evening following a crash in northwest Indiana.

Officers were called about 8:45 p.m. to the intersection of 171st and Parrish avenues in Lowell, where a 2011 Dodge Nitro had struck 16-year-old Jacab Bergonia, according to the Lake County sheriff’s office.

Bergonia was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Lake County coroner’s office. He lived about a mile away from the crash scene.

The driver of the SUV said he was traveling south on Parrish when he saw a flash of light that he later determined was from a cell phone, the sheriff’s office said. Before he realized what the light was, his SUV hit Bergonia, who was riding a skateboard.

The driver, who said he was traveling between 40 and 45 mph, stopped the SUV and called police, the sheriff’s office said.

The crash was being investigated by the sheriff’s office’s crash reconstruction unit.