Police identify 2 children killed, 2 injured in crash into retention pond

MISHAWAKA, Ind.—Police have identified the victims involved in a crash that left a minivan submerged in a retention pond on December 31.

According to FACT, the driver of the minivan, Brooke Natalie Kleven, 31, of Granger and her 3-month-old son Hendrix Kleven, were taken to local hospitals where they remain in critical condition.

Kleven’s four-year-old son, James and two-year-old daughter Natalie were taken to the hospital on Tuesday where they died.

All four were traveling in a minivan on University Drive around 2:45 p.m. on Tuesday when, according to FACT, the vehicle slid off the roadway and into a retention pond near the intersection of University Drive and University Drive Court.

Police said Kleven and the two deceased children were submerged in the pond for several minutes before being removed.

According to FACT, the infant could not be rescued until the vehicle had been removed from the water.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation but police did say that the road conditions were slippery at the time of the crash.