Lansing woman killed in fiery crash near NW Indiana airport

A south suburban woman died in a fiery crash Sunday afternoon near a northwest Indiana airport.

About 4:45 p.m., a vehicle left the road and struck a tree in the 14700 block of Belshaw Road in unincorporated West Creek Township in Indiana, near Lowell Airport, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Department.

The vehicle caught fire and several bystanders tried to remove the unresponsive driver from inside, according to police. But they were unable to free her from the wreckage.

The vehicle became fully engulfed in flames with the driver trapped inside, according to police.

The driver was identified Wednesday as 73-year-old Ethel Olthof of the 18300 block of Wildwood Avenue in Lansing, according to the Lake County coroner’s office. She was pronounced dead at the scene at 5:35 p.m.

The sheriff’s Crash Reconstruction Unit is investigating.