Hammond Police say an investigation continues and that alcohol is strongly believed to be a factor regarding a three-vehicle crash that killed a Gary woman and injured four others. Chief Brian Miller says a Ford Focus was traveling at a high rate of speed, southbound on Columbia Avenue, around 2:30 Sunday morning, when the driver went through a red light, at 165th Street, and t-boned a mini-van, driven by 42-year-old Damita Nicholson of Gary, which caused the mini-van to hit another vehicle. The Lake County Coroners Office says Nicholson died at Franciscan St. Margaret Health in Hammond shortly after 3:30 Sunday morning, while Chief Miller says her passenger, and the driver of the vehicle the mini-van hit both suffered minor injuries. Miller says the driver and passenger of the Ford Focus suffered serious injuries, and the case is being submitted to the prosecutors office for review.

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