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The wife of PGA Tour pro Chris Smith of Peru has been identified as the victim of a head-on crash on Interstate 69 in Steuben County on Sunday, the county sheriff's department has announced.
Beth A. Smith, 42, died at the scene from blunt-force trauma, the sheriff's department said in a statement.
Coroner Rodney Snyder made the identification through dental records because of the intensity of the fire inside Smith's SUV, the statement said.
Previously, the sheriff's department released the names of those injured in the crash:
- Abigail Elizabeth Smith, 16, of Peru. Her injuries included a fracture pelvis, burns and cuts. She was flown to Lutheran Hospital. Police said she was driving the sport utility vehicle that collided with a Greyhound bus carrying a Canadian sports team.
- Cameron M. Smith, 12, of Peru. His injuries included a fractured arm and leg, internal abdominal injures and burns. He was also flown to Lutheran Hospital.
Early today, the Associated Press confirmed with the hospital that they were in critical condition. Later in the morning, the hospital said the children were not on their list, which can mean the family has asked that the information not be released, among other things.
The Smiths' vehicle collided with a bus containing members of the London (Ontario) Silverbacks football team, which was returning from a game in Indianapolis.
PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem released the following statement this morning about the fatality:
"All of us at the PGA TOUR are saddened by the news of the tragic accident which claimed the life of Beth Smith and left her two children in critical condition. Our thoughts and prayers are with Chris and his family during this very difficult time."
Chris Smith owns Rock Hollow Golf Club in Peru.
A passenger in the bus, Silverbacks owner Curry-Alan Lazar, 36, of Ontario, had internal and head injuries. He was first taken to Cameron Hospital in Angola, then flown to Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne. He was later in stable condition, the sheriff’s department said.
The driver of the bus, James Ernest Beresten, 44, of London, Ontario, had cuts on his head and abrasions. He was treated at Cameron Hospital and released.
Twenty-two people were in the bus, the department said, and 11 were taken to Cameron. The others were treated at the scene.
According to the sheriff's department, the Smiths' vehicle was traveling south on I-69, and the driver's-side tires were on the berm on the median side of the interstate, when it veered into the southbound passing lane.
More tire marks swerve back toward the median, where the driver apparently overcorrected, then went off the roadway into the median, the statement said. It said the SUV continued through the median into the northbound lanes.
The bus driver attempted to swerve toward the median to avoid the SUV, but the vehicles collided near the median berm of the northbound lanes, the statement said. It said police don't know why the SUV was on the berm or why the driver swerved.
