I-70 fatal crash: Police investigate why semi hit Beavercreek van

Passing motorists attempted to save two children with ties to Beavercreek in the few minutes before Indiana State Troopers arrived at the Interstate 70 crash that killed them Tuesday, a trooper said.

The crash killed Finley and Brennen Bereda, ages 1 and 5, and sent their mother and driver Christina Bereda, 33, and sibling Jordan, 3, to hospitals in Indianapolis. Christina Bereda has been released from Methodist Hospital; Jordan was hospitalized at Riley Children’s Hospital.

MORE: Prosecutors reviewing Indiana crash that left 2 Beavercreek siblings dead

Police do not know why a semi-truck driver hit the family’s van, said Sgt. Joe Watts of the Indiana State Police.

“When the semi-truck hit the van in the rear, it pierced through it and sheered off the right side,” Watts said. “That’s the side that Finley and Brennen were sitting on. When bystanders pulled over to help, they extricated the kids from the car.”

“We had two troopers on the scene within five minutes,” Watts said. He said the two children “appeared to be severely injured and they were unconscious” when troopers arrived.

“There was a physician on the scene and he was working on one of the children,” he said.

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The semitrailer failed to stop or avoid traffic approaching a construction zone when it hit the Bereda’s van, about 60 miles southwest of Indianapolis, ISP officials said. The semitrailer hit another semi after striking the Ohio family’s vehicle.

The driver of the semitrailer, 62-year-old Amritpal Singh, of Quebec, Canada, was taken to a hospital. The driver of the semi he hit, 57-year-old Russell Sims of Indianapolis, also was taken to a hospital.

Prosecutors will review the incident for possible charges. Authorities are running routine chemical and alcohol tests, but there is no indication Singh was intoxicated, Watts said.

“Right now, we don’t know why he failed to stop,” Watts said.

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Watts said the stretch of highway is “very busy” and has had its “share of crashes.”

“There’s been construction in the Terre Haute area for about 5-6 years now,” he said.

But the volume of crashes did not make witnessing Tuesday’s scene any easier for troopers, Watts said.

“They were visibly shaken,” Watts said of his colleagues, who arrived on scene before him. “I’ve worked a lot of these things and they never get easier.”

The Bereda family moved to the St. Louis, Missouri area more than a year ago, friends said. Christina Bereda is a family medicine physician who met her husband, David, at medical school.

David attended Carroll High School and graduated in 2000. The current principal, Matt Sableski, coached him as a runner.

“You know, it comes down to faith,” Sableski said. “We’re a community of faith, so it gets us through these tough times, we support their families in any way we can.”

The Beredas were parishioners at Ascension Catholic Church in Kettering, where their youngest was baptized in May 2016.

“We do the best to recognize their grief, comfort them the best we can and just promote faith,” Father Ed Pratt said.

News Center 7 reporter Mike Campbell contributed reporting.

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