Hamilton County sheriff's deputies and firefighters work at the scene of a head-on collision on Interstate 275 Tuesday. (Glenn Hartong photos) | ZOOM |

        WHITEWATER TWP. — Two people were killed and another critically injured Tuesday when a minivan crossed a grassy median during a light rain and struck an SUV on Interstate 275 near Kilby Road.

        The crash occurred about 5:10 p.m. in the southbound lanes one mile south of Kilby Road.

        Todd James, 40, of Aurora, Ind., who witnessed the crash, said the impact sent debris over guardrails into a wooded area.

        An empty car seat in the minivan and a child's toy — a small white bunny that came to rest near a guardrail — initially led rescuers to believe a small child might have been ejected. But an extensive search determined there were no children in either vehicle.

        The two fatalities were the driver, Charles E. Henson, 78, and his passenger, Sondra Henson, 38, both of Carthage, who were in a gray Dodge Caravan that crossed the median, said Hamilton County Sheriff's Deputy Tom Butler.

        The southbound lanes were blocked for more than three hours.

Traffic backs up on I-275 near Kilby Road as motorists wait near the scene of a fatal accident. | ZOOM |

        Deputy Butler said the Caravan was traveling north when it changed lanes and clipped the front end of a tractor-trailer rig. The Caravan went out of control, crossed the median and struck a southbound Kia Sedona. The driver of the truck, Jason C. Brandt, 27, of Randolph, Neb., was not injured.

        The driver of the Sedona, Daniel Malecki, 55, of Lake in the Hill, Ill., was taken to University Hospital, where he was in critical condition late Tuesday.

        Mr. James, who was driving north, said it had just started to rain when he noticed the Caravan and the semi drift into the median.

        “I initially thought they were going to be all right,” he said.

        “But the gray minivan continued across the median and struck the side of the blue SUV.”

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