An investigation could take police 30 days to find out exactly what happened in a fatal accident involving three Ball State students, a Maine resident and a Florida highway patrol trooper, officials said.
During those 30 days, the Florida Highway Patrol will speak with survivors, interview witnesses and examine the cars involved, public affairs officer Kim Miller said.
"We're trying to piece together a timeline of events," she said.
Miller said investigators know the crash happened at 4:45 p.m. on Saturday about three miles south of Daytona Beach, Fla., on Interstate 95.
Junior Kyle Trosky, 22, died at the scene, while sophomore Kaitlin Culpepper, 20, remains in "serious, but stable" condition at Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach, Fla., Miller said. Sophomore Courtland Brown, 18, was treated and released from Halifax Medical Center for minor injuries, she said.
The three students were returning home from a Spring Break trip in South Beach Miami, Fla.
Culpepper was driving a 2001 Mazda van northbound in the left lane of I-95, while at the same time Patrol Trooper Kurt Glaenzer, 30, was driving southbound. Glaenzer turned on his lights and siren as he crossed the grassy median in pursuit of a speeding motorist, not Culpepper, in the interstate's northbound lane, Miller said.
Glaenzer pulled out in front of the car Culpepper was behind.
In response to the braking car in front of her, Culpepper swerved to the right, hitting a car driven by Patricia Samson, a resident of Turner, Maine, Miller said. Samson was not injured.
The van with the students drove into the median and turned over two or three times.
Miller said Trosky was not wearing his seat belt and both he and Culpepper were thrown from the van.
However, University of Kentucky junior Patrick Dammerk said, "She was still in the car."
Dammerk, who was also returning home from Spring Break, arrived at the scene of the accident about five minutes after it happened, where he found the van resting on its right side.
"She was kind of wedged in there," he said. "She was sitting on the ground where the glass had been on the passenger side."
Dammerk said he saw one man holding Culpepper's head up, while Brown was still in the back of the car.
"I tried talking to him, but he was in shock," he said.
Miller said Brown was wearing his seat belt, but investigators aren't sure if Culpepper was.
"We don't want to jump the gun and accuse Katie of not wearing her seat belt," Miller said. "We want to give her the benefit of the doubt."
Dammerk said about 50 people from both sides of the interstate stopped to help.
"There were people pulling over like crazy," he said. "We saw the guy laying there, and we decided to pull over. If it was us, we'd want people to help us."
Glaenzer's car was not hit. If the Florida Highway Patrol find that Glaenzer caused the crash, he will be issued a traffic ticket that involves a court appearance, Miller said. No criminal charges have been filed against Glaenzer, nor has he been suspended from his job, she said. However, she said Glaenzer decided to take a few days off...2?]+â-¦+â-Å"I+â-¦>+â-è+â-¦,+â-¦>+â-¦+â-ƒg-¬A;'+â-ñ+...U +â-îu+â-Çg^'+â-ñm@$%l{v_+â-++â-¦-¦"+â-î"U+â-¦+â-à?+â-à>b...?+â-«+â-äv1!+â-û-»t`-JD-¦I-º?Q<'...nJ?S~X+â-ó[9['+â-¿W-¦+â-í+â-¦)BY!"+â-¦I+â-Ñ-íq-óe+â-ºq-¦+â-¬n!+â-àa?46k-«Gb9"d+â-í+â-«"+â-+)-ó0V_+â-+-ú{7+âw"F+â-ègg6--?"a---+...3G/^?+â-ì[?-á-'+â-ê3M?@~'-¦™+â-ÅjI'+â-¦~m"+â-¦E?+â-º=b`+â-Ö+â-¦]?a*-¦+â-û-»?N_crash_03/22/04DNEditorial..2+â-¦X,?2AUDT
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