High school student dies in crash near West Lafayette

Head-on crash leaves one dead, another seriously injured

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WISH) — An 18-year-old woman died in a crash on Thursday morning on State Road 26 West near West Lafayette, authorities say.

The Tippecanoe County Coroner’s Office identified the woman who died as June Anneliese Florian.

The Tippecanoe School Corp. issued a statement saying additional counselors were available as friends and family mourned the Harrison High School student’s death.

The Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Office and the Wabash Township Fire Department were called about 7:30 a.m. Thursday to the crash in the 2900 block of State Road 26 West. That’s just west of the Purdue University campus.

The sheriff’s office says investigators believe Florian was driving a 2009 Dodge Caliber car westbound when it crossed the centerline and struck an eastbound 2010 Chrysler Town and Country minivan.

The minivan driver, Jennifer Nelson, 60, of West Lafayette, was injured, the sheriff’s office says. She was taken to IU Health Arnett Hospital in serious condition.

Investigators were continuing late Thursday morning to determine the cause of the crash.