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South Suburban Woman Killed In I-80/94 Crash

HAMMOND, Ind. (STMW) -- Police say alcohol may have been a factor in a crash that killed a south suburban woman early Monday near Hammond, Ind.

Takara Mauldin, 26, of Country Club Hills was killed after smashing a Ford Taurus into a semi, leaving it jammed underneath the truck up to the rear tires, a release from Indiana State Police said.

The crash happened about 4:35 a.m. on I-80/94 eastbound near Indianapolis Boulevard.

A witness told troopers a 2005 Taurus passed at a high rate of speed and without braking and ran into the rear of a 2006 Volvo semi rail container trailer traveling in the same lane, the release said.

The driver of the semi, 40-year-old Miroshaw Chrzascik of Elmwood Park said he was in the second lane when he felt a bump and thought he had blown a tire. But when he looked in his side view mirror he saw a car had hit him and immediately pulled over

Mauldin had to be extricated from the Taurus, which was stuck underneath the semi.

She was pronounced dead at the scene of massive injuries.

The driver of the semi, who was traveling from Alsip to Toledo, Ohio, was not injured.

The wreck remains under investigation but police say alcohol may have been a factor in the crash.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2010. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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