Third person dies after buggy crash

ADAMS COUNTY, Ind. (WANE) -- The Adams County Sheriff’s Department announced Friday that a third person who was riding in a buggy when a van crashed into it last week, died overnight.

Police said 17-year-old Jerry Schwartz died in a Fort Wayne hospital as a result of the injuries he suffered when 21-year-old Chandler Gerber crashed a van into the buggy that was carrying him and five other people near the intersection of S.R. 124 and C.R. 400 W, just before 8 a.m. on April 17, 2012.

A three-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl were also killed in the crash.

Schwartz’s mother, 44-year-old, Mary Schwartz was taken to the hospital in critical condition. There was no update available on Mary’s current condition Friday.

Also inside the buggy was a 16-year-old boy who was driving at the time, he was treated and released from the hospital. An infant girl was also treated and released.

Police said Gerber admitted he was texting and a glare from the sun made it hard for him to see right before the crash.

Gerber did not suffer any injuries.

The Adams County Coroner will determine Schwartz's official cause of death.