LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The force of the impact between Purdue’s Boilermaker Special with a southbound car split the car in two pieces from front to back, killing the driver, according to the sheriff’s department investigation.
The woman killed in Thursday afternoon’s crash, who died at the scene, was in her mid-20s, Tippecanoe County Coroner Carrie Costello said Friday morning. Costello will not release the woman’s name and city of residence until a positive identity is confirmed and her family members have been notified, Costello said. A forensic autopsy is scheduled for Monday.
Madison Cook, 20, of Noblesville, was the driver of the Boilermaker Special. Taylor Melton, 22, of Rockport, was a passenger. Cook is a junior in the Polytechnic Institute, and Melton is a senior in the College of Agriculture, Purdue spokesman Trevor Peters said.
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They were treated at a Lafayette hospital and later released, Purdue University spokesman Trevor Peters said.
The Boilermaker Special is a truck modified to look like a 19th-century steam locomotive and is the official mascot of Purdue University. It is legal to drive on public roads and highways.
Tippecanoe County sheriff’s Chief Deputy Terry Ruley said the Boilermaker Special’s left front tire malfunctioned, sending it off the left side of the highway, into the median and into the path of the southbound car.
This confirms what Lyndsay Lehr, a Stockwell resident, said Thursday afternoon. She said she was driving on U.S. 52 and witnessed the accident in her rearview mirror. She was one of many people who called 911.
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Lehr said she watched the Boilermaker Special blow a tire before it crossed over the median, plowing directly into the car behind her.
The Indiana State Police Commercial Motor Division is assisting the sheriff’s department in looking for other possible mechanical problems in the Boilermaker Special that might have contributed to the crash, Ruley said.
The accident remains under investigation.
Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Police: Boilermaker Special’s tire blew, causing fatal crash
