A three-vehicle crash on Indiana 14 near South Whitley on Tuesday morning sent several Pierceton-area teens to hospitals. One was in critical condition.

The Kosciusko County FACT/Reconstruction Team reported that Paul J. Nadolski, 19, had been going east on the state route shortly before 7:50 a.m., following Garret A. Vande, 18, when a van turned left onto Indiana 14 off Kosciusko County Road 700 East.

About the same time, Nadolski and Vande tried to pass the van. Nadolski lost control and hit the van, and both vehicles rolled or flipped off Indiana 14.

The driver of the van, Jarrod A. Lewis, 17, and the front passenger, Charles E. Shepherd Jr., 16, were ejected. Lewis was flown to Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne in critical condition, the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department said. Shepherd and a backseat passenger, Austin L. Striggle, 15, were taken to Parkview by ambulance in serious condition.

Nadolski was taken to Kosciusko Community Hospital in serious condition.

The sheriff's department said Vande left the scene and was later located at his home in Pierceton. He was not injured.

Investigators reported that speed was "a large factor" in the crash, adding that they are also waiting for blood lab results from those involved.