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Indiana Accident News

Devastating accident leaves 14-year-old dead and three others injured in Lawrence

Posted on Oct 30, 2008

Early Sunday, October 26, 2008, Chris Baugh, a 14-year-old Lawrence North High School freshman was killed in a one-car crash in a Lawrence neighborhood. Three others in the vehicle in which Baugh was a passenger were injured during the crash, which occurred about 5:30.a.m.in the 7600 block of Indian Lake Road.

The four were traveling south on Indian Lake Road when the right front tire of the 1995 Chevrolet Cavalier went off the road and hit a hole in the gravel, said Lt. Steven York, a spokesman for the Lawrence Police Department.

The car’s 16-year-old driver tried to get the car back onto the road but steered too far left, York said. The car crossed both lanes of the road, slammed into two trees and caught on fire at the edge of Brenda Solenberg’s front yard.

Solenberg said the noise of the accident roused her and her 15-year-old daughter, Alex. They went outside to find the front-seat passenger lying in their yard behind the vehicle and the driver trying to get out of the car. The two back-seat passengers were trapped inside, Solenberg said.

When Solenberg noticed a fire in the dashboard of the vehicle, she summoned her husband, who helped keep the flames under control until the Lawrence Fire Department arrived. The two passengers trapped in the back seat were extricated from the vehicle, Solenberg said. It was unclear who was sitting where in the car.

Ricardo Tavera, 19, of the 11600 block of Indian Creek Road, was transported to Wishard Memorial Hospital, where he was in critical condition late Sunday. Joshua Stone, 21, of the 6100 block of Liverpool Lane, was transported to Methodist Hospital, where he was in fair condition Sunday.

After being released from Wishard where he had been transported after that accident, the driver was arrested and taken to the Juvenile Detention Center on preliminary charges of operating a vehicle causing serious bodily injury and operating a vehicle causing death, both felonies.

According to the report, the 16-year-old told police that he had been drinking and that he and the passengers had smoked marijuana before the crash.

York said the Fatal Alcohol Crash Team is investigating the incident to verify that alcohol and drugs were a factor.

Baugh’s mother, Norma Leon, described her son as quiet and well-liked. Many of his friends would congregate at her house to play video games such as "Guitar Hero," she said. Grappling with the loss of her son and trying to find meaning in what she called a senseless accident, Norma Leon said, "I know it’s a really horrible thing that happened, but hopefully some kids will learn from this."