Three Manchester University students were killed early Sunday morning in a crash on I-69 in Grant County. The crash occurred around 5:20 a.m. in the northbound lanes near the Delaware County line at mile marker 253.
According to the Grant County Sheriff’s Department, preliminary investigation shows a passenger van was broken down with a flat front tire on the driver’s side. The van was partially off the roadway towards the median. All seven people who were traveling in the van were outside of the vehicle, with three people near the rear of the vehicle and four people on the driver’s side area.
Another passenger van was traveling northbound on I-69 when it left the roadway and struck the four people on the driver’s side area. Three of the people struck died at the scene, and the fourth person was flown to Parkview Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne. That person is in critical condition at the hospital.
The driver of the vehicle that struck the four people was transported to Marion General Hospital where he was treated for minor injuries and released.
The driver of the vehicle was identified as Deangelo Evans, 26, of Chicago. He is charged with three counts of operating while intoxicated causing death, one count of operating while intoxicated resulting in serious bodily injury, and three counts of reckless homicide. He is being held at the Grant County Jail on a $300,000 bond.
Manchester University President Dave McFadden released the names of the students killed in the crash. They are identified as international Manchester University students from Ethiopia and Nigeria: Nerad Grace Mangai, Brook M. Dagnew and Kirubel Alemayehu Hailu. The fourth student who was hit, Israel Solomon Tamire.