Five hurt, three critically, in northwest Indiana crash

Five people were injured, three critically, in a head-on crash Tuesday morning in northwest Indiana.

A maroon Ford Expedition northbound on U.S. 421 and a maroon Chevrolet truck southbound on U.S. 421 collided head-on at Alida Road about 5:30 a.m., just south of Westville, Ind., according to the LaPorte County sheriff’s office.

Three people from the Chevrolet — a 43-year-old man, 40-year-old man and 10-year-old boy — were flown from the scene in medical helicopters in critical condition, police said.

A 17-year-old girl in the Chevrolet and the sole occupant of the Ford, a 44-year-old man from Wanatah, Ind., were taken by ambulance to hospitals.

All four occupants of the Chevrolet are believed to be from Valparaiso, Ind., police said.

Police said the cause of the crash is not yet known. LaPorte County sheriff’s detectives and crash reconstruction investigators are at the scene.

U.S. 421 was closed between State Road 2 and U.S. 30 for about four hours after the crash, but reopened by 10 a.m., according to the Indiana Department of Transportation.