16-year-old killed while trying to help pull car from ditch in snow, officials say
LAGRANGE COUNTY, Ind. (WNDU[1]/Gray News) - A 16-year-old was killed while trying to help a car out of a ditch in Indiana during winter weather, officials said.
According to the LaGrange County Sheriff's Office, the crash happened Sunday just before 1 a.m. on State Road 5.
Officials said it started when a car with two 16-year-olds inside slid off the snowy road and landed in a ditch.
A 32-year-old man driving a pickup truck stopped to help and attached a tow strap to the teen's car to pull it out of the ditch.
Deputies said 16-year-old Benjamin Lehman, who was the passenger in the car that had crashed into the ditch, got out of the vehicle to help.
Police said a third oncoming vehicle attempted to drive between the truck and the stuck car, not realizing there was a tow strap connected to them, and the driver couldn't see well due to the inclement weather.
That vehicle struck the tow strap and Lehman.
Lehman was pronounced dead at the scene.
The crash is still under investigation.
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