NEW:
The St. Joseph Co. Prosecutor's Office has released names of children who died on New Year's Eve when the SUV they were riding in went into a pond.
Read more below.
St. Joseph County –On December 31, 2019, at approximately 2:45 p.m., first responders were dispatched to report of a single vehicle crash into a retention pond. A minivan was driving eastbound on University Dr. The driver failed to negotiate a curve, slid off the roadway, and went into a retention pond near the intersection of University Dr. and University Dr. Ct. The van contained the driver, Brooke Natalie Kleven, 31, of Granger, and her three children (a four year old, a two year old, and a 3 month old).
First responders were able to remove Ms. Kleven and two of the children (the 2 year old and the 4 year old), but not until they had been submerged for several minutes. The infant (3 month old) could not be removed until the vehicle had been removed from the water.
Ms. Kleven and the 3 month old infant, Hendrix Kleven, were taken to local hospitals, where, at last update, they remained in critical condition.
Ms. Kleven’s four year old child, James Kleven, and her two year old child, Natalie Kleven, were transported to Memorial Hospital where they subsequently passed away on December 31st.
The St. Joseph County Fatal Crash Team (FACT) was activated, per protocol, to handle the investigation. Investigators are still investigating the cause of the crash, but road conditions were slippery at the time of the crash.
ORIGINAL POST:
MISHAWAKA, Ind. (AP) — Northern Indiana authorities say two people drowned and two others were left hospitalized in critical condition after an SUV plunged into a pond.
Mishawaka firefighters called the scene Tuesday afternoon pulled one adult and three juveniles from the fully submerged SUV after it entered a retention pond in the city just east of South Bend.
St. Joseph County's coroner says two crash victims who were pronounced dead had died from drowning.
The two others remained in critical condition. Local roads were icy Tuesday afternoon, but officials are still investigating what caused the SUV to enter the pond.