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FW mother ID’d as victim of crash |
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Tuesday, June 02 2009 |
Sunday crash left four others injured
By Chris Meyers
Staff writer
A Fort Wayne mother who was the passenger in a car which her daughter was the driver of, has been identified as the victim of a fatal crash from Sunday afternoon in Whitley County.
According to the Whitley County Sheriff’s Department, 45-year-old Kelly R. Arnold was in the front passenger seat of her car and was killed upon impact when it was struck by a minivan on state Route 14 at the intersection with county Road 500 East.
At the wheel of the car was Arnold’s 16-year-old daughter, Sydney Arnold, who has a valid learner’s permit, according to police.
Investigating officers found what appeared to be a log book in the car which had entries for time the younger Arnold had spent with her parents as she practiced driving.
The reconstruction has not yet been completed and there are no witness statements, but officers at this point believe Sydney Arnold did not stop at the two-way stop sign as she prepared to cross SR 14 from the south.
Whitley County sheriff’s deputy Todd Cook said he believes driver inexperience or a lack of knowledge of the area likely contributed to the crash.
The driver of the westbound minivan, 48-year-old Joseph M. Bruce, also of Fort Wayne, told police he saw a blur out of the corner of his eye as Arnold’s car entered the intersection before impact.
There were no skid marks on SR 14 to indicate that Bruce was able to hit his brakes before he hit the car.
Bruce’s 15-year-old son and a 16-year-old friend of his son were passengers in the minivan and were also injured.
The minivan hit the car in the passenger side, which sent both vehicles into a field at the northwest corner of the intersection.
Sydney Arnold, Bruce and his passengers were taken by ambulance from the scene to Fort Wayne hospitals.
According to police reports, everyone involved in the crash was wearing a seat belt.
Jefferson and Union Township fire departments and state police also responded.
E-mail staff writer Chris Meyers at
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, June 03 2009 )
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