Motorcyclist killed in three-vehicle crash in NW Indiana

A motorcyclist was killed when his bike was struck from behind and pushed into a third vehicle Friday morning in northwest Indiana.

The crash happened about 11:18 a.m. at the intersection of State Route 49 and County Road 500N in unincorporated Valparaiso, according to the Porter County sheriff’s office.

Police said 42-year-old Andrew Vloedman of Crown Point, Indiana, was riding a black 2011 Heritage Softail Harley Davidson northbound on SR 49, when he slowed for a red light.

A blue 2015 Honda Accord struck the motorcycle from behind, police said. The impact pushed the bike into the intersection, where it struck the read end of a 2009 GMC Sierra pickup, which was eastbound on CR 500N and turning northbound onto SR 49.

Vloedman, who was not wearing a helmet, was thrown from his motorcycle. He was taken to Porter Regional Hospital in Valparaiso, where he later died, police said.

The driver of the Honda, a 58-year-old Valparaiso man; and the driver of the GMC, a 23-year-old Hebron, Indiana, woman, were not injured.

The northbound lanes of SR 49 were closed for about two hours as police investigated.