Patriot Guard and Troopers save 6 from burning Jeep
Updated: Saturday, 14 Jan 2012, 10:34 PM EST
Published : Saturday, 14 Jan 2012, 5:49 PM EST
Published : Saturday, 14 Jan 2012, 5:49 PM EST
WishTV.com Indiana
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, Ind. (WISH) - As the Patriot Guard was escorting Spc. Robert Tauteris Jr.’s body back to his hometown of North Judson, there was a two-vehicle crash right in front of the convoy. Patriot Guard Riders stopped to pull four people from South Bend out of the fiery wreckage, WSBT reports.
This happened around 10 a.m. Saturday on westbound U.S. 30 just east of County Road 325 E. in Washington Twp. Police say a pickup rear-ended a Jeep Cherokee, causing the Jeep to catch fire from the impact and cross partially into the eastbound lanes, where the Patriot Guard was escorting the soldier’s body from the Porter County Airport.
Police say Sgt. Matt Edwards, who was leading the procession, saw the crash in his rearview mirror and immediately went to it along with the Patriot Guard members. They pulled four people out of the burning Jeep, including 6-year-old twins.
The Jeeps driver, 35-year-old Ana Pina of South Bend, suffered numerous injuries and burns from the crash. She, along with her 6-year-old daughter in the back seat, were taken to Porter Valparaiso Hospital where they were flown to Chicago Area Hospitals in unknown condition.
Pina’s mother, who was in the front seat, and her 6-year-old son, who was in the back seat with his twin sister, were transported to Hobart St. Mary’s Hospital with minor injuries.
The pickup’s driver, 76-year-old John Buibish from Grovertown, got a bloody nose when the airbag deployed.
Sgt. Edwards was treated and released for smoke inhalation. Cpl. Dan Becker, an Indiana State Police officer and Patriot Guard member, suffered smoke inhalation and burns. He’s being kept in the hospital overnight for observation.
Several other Patriot Guard Riders were treated at the hospital for minor burns, injuries and smoke inhalation from the rescue efforts.
Spc. Robert Tauteris Jr.
Tauteris, a member of the Indiana National Guard, died Jan. 6 in Afghanistan when the vehicle in which he was traveling struck a roadside bomb.
The blast killed four other members of the 713th Engineering Company, out of Valparaiso, as well, and critically injured a fifth.
Visitation for Tauteris is set for 10 a.m. Sunday at Braman & Bailey Funeral Home, 6020 S. Oakwood Ave., North Judson, followed by funeral services at 1 p.m.
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