Indiana State trooper among 3 hit by car on I-80/94 ramp in Gary

An Indiana State Police trooper and two other people were hit by a car Wednesday morning on an I-80/94 onramp in northwest Indiana.

Trooper Nicole Maenza, 24, was investigating a crash about 4:40 a.m. on the snow-covered ramp from southbound Cline Avenue to I-80/94 in Gary, Indiana, according to a statement from Indiana State Police. She has worked for the department for a year and a half.

As Maenza was investigating one crash, she saw a Ford Expedition crash into the barrier wall further down the ramp and went to check on the occupants, state police said. A pair of brothers from Chicago, ages 41 and 37, got out of the Expedition.

As Maenza was telling the men to get back into the Expedition, a 2015 Hyundai Sonata lost control and hit all three of them, state police said. They were taken to a hospital, where Maenza and the older man were admitted. Their injuries were not thought to be life-threatening.

The driver of the Sonata, a 27-year-old woman from Griffith, Indiana, told investigators that the car in front of her started to slow down and she had to brake and swerve to the right to avoid hitting that car, state police said. She lost control, hit a light pole and realized she’d hit Maenza and the two men after she heard people yelling.

It was not immediately clear whether the driver was cited or charged in connection with the crash.