New Jersey woman dies more than month after I-80 crash in Gary

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An elderly New Jersey woman died Saturday morning from injuries she suffered the previous month in an Interstate 80 crash in northwest Indiana.

About 6 p.m. on May 15, a black 2015 Chrysler rear-ended a gray 2009 Honda Accord in heavy, stop-and-go rush hour traffic on westbound I-80 near Broadway in Gary, according to Indiana State Police.

Maria Antolak, an 80-year-old backseat passenger in the Honda, complained of head pain but was conscious walking after the crash, according to state police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

She and the Chrysler’s driver, who suffered a neck injury, were taken to Methodist Hospital in Gary, but neither of their injuries were thought to be life-threatening at the time, police said. Three other people in the Honda declined medical treatment.

Antolak, who lived in Clifton New Jersey, was transferred to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where she died at 6 a.m. Saturday, according to the medical examiner’s office.

A Sunday autopsy found she died of head injuries from a motor vehicle collision and her death was ruled an accident, with heart disease and diabetes listed as secondary causes of death.

As of Monday afternoon, no citations or charges had been issued in the crash but state police said the investigation was ongoing.

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