A Ligonier man is facing OWI charges after a two-car crash that injured six people including four children ranging in age from 5 months to 15-years-old.
The collision happened just before 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 31, on County Road 17 at the intersection with County Road 45 when Julio Velazquez Panama, 37, was traveling at a high rate of speed, failed to stop at the stop light, and crashed into a vehicle that was attempting to turn, according to the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office.
The 61-year-old Elkhart man in the other vehicle was not hurt.
Panama and the children in his car suffered a variety of injuries ranging from chest pain and facial pain. The 5-month-old boy in the car suffered a broken femur.
Besides OWI, Panama was cited for never receiving a license, speeding and operating a vehicle with an unrestrained child under 8-years-old, the sheriff’s office reported.
