Winamac community mourning student killed in bus crash

WINAMAC, Ind. -- The Winamac community is mourning the death of a teenager who was killed in a bus crash on US 31 near Argos Wednesday morning.

The Winamac Community Middle School students were on a school bus headed to watch a production of Elf the Musical at the Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts when the bus was rear ended by a large truck.

One male student died at the scene and 14-year-old Zane Bell was airlifted to Memorial Hospital in South Bend.

Some businesses in Winamac closed for the day after the tragedy.

“Winamac it’s a great little, tight knit community. Everybody knows everybody," Zeke Vasquez said. “It struck everybody pretty hard today.”

Vasquez closed his restaurant when he heard the news.

“When she told me I shut down the restaurant," Vasquez said.

Residents in the tight-knit community are just coming to grips with the tragedy.

“This stuff happens all the time every day, but when you’re in a small community like this, it hits everybody just because everyone knows who that kid is," Vasquez said. “Hopefully everybody will get a little closer after this.”