* A couple and their three children are killed when a truck crashed into their pick-up truck in northwest Indiana. The fatal crash took place at approximately 4 a.m. Friday on Interstate 65 near Crown Point, Ind.
The city of Hobart, Ind. remained in shock as residents learned about the fiery crash that claimed the lives of a family of five. Neighbors say the family was on a trip down to Florida to visit relatives when the tragedy struck.
Lost in the crash are 33-year-old Brian Workman, his 31-year-old wife Joanna and their three children, 13-year-old Ashley, 8-year-old Tyler and 1-year-old Ryan. Friday afternoon, investigators were not only combing over the mangled wreckage of the family’s vehicle, but also both trucks involved. In the meantime, the neighborhood and community of Hobart struggles to accept the tragedy that struck the family.
Authorities say as the Lake County sheriff towed a vehicle allegedly involved in a high-speed chase from the roadway, the driver of a flatbed came to a stop. The pickup carrying the victims traveling behind that flatbed stopped, too. But another vehicle, a semi, unaware of that traffic backup, came over the hill and could not stop. The second truck involved struck the rear of a pic-up truck, which in turn, struck the rear of a semi in front of it.
* Emergency crews responded to the scene of a crash involving a tour bus in far southwest suburban Minooka Friday morning. The crash happened along I-80. Four people were hurt.The bus reportedly rear-ended a semi-truck.
* Illinois State Police at District 21 in Ashkum report the investigation continues into the June 16th armed robbery of the Shapiro Development Center Employees Credit Union. Two men armed with handguns allegedly entered the credit union on East Jeffery Street at 11:40 a.m. demanding money. The men were dressed in dark clothing and were wearing ski masks. They left with an undisclosed amount of cash and fled in an unknown direction. Police said there were no injuries.
* Vacancies on the Iroquois and Kankakee County Boards will require appointed replacements. The death of Lowell Schmidt of Watseka this past week created a vacancy in District 3 in Iroquois County. Schmidt served the board since 1988. The Kankakee County Board will need to replace Sam Nicholos in District 13. He had served for just under seven years, but resigned to accept a new employment opportunity in Peoria.
* New numbers show the swine flu isn’t leaving Illinois and kids could be more susceptible to virus. Children and teens make up more than half of the confirmed cases of the swine flu in Illinois. Illinois Department of Public Health officials are now reporting 12 deaths linked to swine flu and more than 28-hundred cases of the flu in the state. Over half the cases are in Chicago and Cook County, but 27 other counties all over Illinois have positive cases of swine flu. Across the country, there are 127 deaths connected to the swine flu pandemic and over 27-thousand cases of the virus. A state public health spokeswoman says the virus isn’t acting like other seasonal illnesses because new cases are still being reported during the summer. That may mean people are in for a summer full of washing hands and covering coughs.
