Three people from Apex killed in Indiana crash

Three people from Apex were killed Saturday in a crash in LaPorte County.

Indiana state police responded to reports of a car accident around 8:37 a.m. on Interstate 94 eastbound, two miles east of the Michigan City exit at U.S. Highway 421.

Authorities said a white 2023 Kia had become disabled in the inside shoulder emergency lane. It was parked and had its hazard lights activated.

A gray 2017 Dodge Journey, driven by Jol Ranay Taylor from Muscatine, Iowa, was traveling eastbound when it left the travel lanes and drove on the inside shoulder, where it struck the Kia at a high rate of speed.

The force of the collision pushed the Kia into the center lane of the interstate, where it burst into flames.

The driver of the Kia, Nirmit Alkesh Patel, 29, from Apex, was able to force open the driver’s door and escape.

Three occupants who died, Alkesh Patel, 58, Hina Alkesh Patel, 54, and Aditi Nirmit Patel, 30, all from Apex, remained trapped inside the Kia and could not escape.

The driver of the Dodge and his two passengers were not injured.

The crash is under investigation.