(WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.) — One person is dead and two others injured after Purdue University’s Boilermaker Special mascot collided with a vehicle on a highway in Indiana, authorities said.
The deadly crash happened Thursday afternoon on U.S. 52 at Wyandotte Road in southeastern Tippecanoe County, several miles southeast of the university.
The Boilermaker Special vehicle was traveling north on the highway when, for a currently unknown reason, it crossed the median and collided with a passenger car traveling south, according to the Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Office.
The driver of the passenger vehicle died, the sheriff’s office said. The person’s identity has not yet been confirmed, authorities said. No one else was in the vehicle.
Two students who were on the Boilermaker Special were transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, authorities said. They have since been treated and released, according to Purdue.
“We can confirm our Boilermaker Special was involved in a serious multi-vehicle accident,” the university said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with all those impacted by the incident.”
The Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Office crash reconstruction team is investigating, the sheriff’s office said.
The Boilermaker Special, a vehicle that resembles a Victorian-era steam locomotive, is Purdue’s official mascot. It travels to away football games and can drive up to 75 mph, according to the school.
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