13 WTHR - Indianapolis News |Children critically injured in I-65 crash

Children critically injured in I-65 crash

Indianapolis - Two Illinois children suffered critical injuries in a crash on I-65 Friday night. It happened in the southbound lanes near the Keystone exit at around 5:40 pm.

Six vehicles were involved in the crash, which tied up traffic for several hours. The victims were on their way to Disney World from Illinois.

Police say a man driving an RV and pulling a horse trailer with three horses in it accidentally hit the accelerator instead of the brake when he came upon slowed traffic.

Officers say the driver, 72-year-old Charles Walker of Knox, Indiana, collided with a Honda Odyssey driven by Erin McCormick of Round Lake, Illinois. McCormick's four-year-old daughter Gwendolyn and two-year-old son Quinton suffered serious injuries. McCormick and her husband, who was a passenger in the Odyssey, was not seriously injured.

Police say Walker set off a chain reaction when he hit McCormick's vehicle, which in turn struck a 1999 Chevrolet Silverado being driven by Michael Capps of Indianapolis. The vehicles continued being pushed by Walker and collided with a blue 2001 Nissan being driven by Jeffery Parson of Indianapolis. Those vehicles continued to be pushed and collided with a gray 2010 Honda Accord being driven by Kimberly Kelly of Greenwood. Those vehicles were pushed into the final vehicle, a red 2007 Dodge being driven by Thomas Johnson of Greenwood before coming to final rest.

Erin McCormick was treated at Wishard Hospital and released. Her two children were taken to Riley with life-threatening injuries.

Charles Walker was issued three traffic tickets and one traffic warning as a result of this crash. He was issued traffic tickets for driving a vehicle in the third lane of the interstate while towing a trailer in violation of postings, driving a vehicle-trailer combination in violation of maximum length, and speeding when required to reduce speed. He was also issued a written warning for an expired trailer registration plate.

The horses were uninjured.

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