Cloverdale teen dies, others injured, in crash

PLAINFIELD — A Cloverdale teenager has died from injuries sustained in an automobile crash Saturday afternoon.

In a Monday-afternoon press release, the Plainfield Police Department identified Sydney Willis of Cloverdale as the crash victim who was taken to Eskenazi Hospital in critical condition.

The Banner Graphic has additionally learned that Willis was taken off of life support Monday morning, succumbing to her injuries a short time later.

Two other girls involved in the crash, another Cloverdale student identified as the driver, and a back seat passenger who is a relative of Willis but not a CHS student, are not being identified by police because they are minors.

Both were taken to Riley Hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries.

According to the police report, at approximately 2 p.m., police were called to the intersection of State Road 267 and the eastbound Interstate 70 off-ramp for a two-vehicle crash.

The preliminary investigation indicated that a 2003 Ford F-250 driven by 56-year-old Terry Miles of Mooresville was southbound on SR 267, while a 2006 Volkswagen driven by one of the Cloverdale juveniles was eastbound on the ramp from I-70 to SR 267.

The collision occurred when both vehicles entered the intersection at the same time.

Miles was taken by ambulance to Hendricks Regional Hospital in Danville.

The investigation into the cause of the accident is ongoing by Plainfield PD.

A vigil for the girls took place on the Cloverdale High School softball diamond Sunday evening.

A meeting first thing Monday morning formally informed staff members, with attention then turning to helping students with the grieving process, with counselors from both the high school and middle school on hand.

Though identifying Monday as a tough day, Principal Sonny Stoltz said that teachers and students had dealt with the situation as well as could be expected, with some productive conversations coming out of the process.