Student killed in auto accident

With plans to intern in Washington D.C., Melanie Mailander was excited for this summer. She and a friend had put a deposit down on an apartment, and they were going to be on their own for the first time. But Mailander will never make it to Washington. \nMailander, 20, of Michigan City and a junior in the IU School of Education, was traveling home for the summer along I-65 when a southbound vehicle crossed the median at an unknown speed and headed toward the Buick she was driving. According to the police report, Mailander attempted to break and swerve away from the oncoming four-door Saturn, driven by Todd Lighty, 33, of Bolingbrook, Ill., but was struck in the driver's side area. Her car then went off the road and rolled upside down. \nThe police report said Lighty's car, containing his wife Kristian and their two toddlers, a boy and a girl ages 2 and 1, was then struck by a northbound semi. \nMailander, who authorities said was wearing her seat belt at the time of the collision, was pronounced dead at the scene. \nAll four occupants of the Saturn were flown by helicopter to hospitals in Chicago. Lighty and his wife Kristian were still listed in critical condition Wednesday at Olympia Field Hospital. The two toddlers were released from the hospital Sunday and are now in the care of their grandparents. \nThe driver of the semi, Robert Allen, 43, of Coshocton, Ohio, was unharmed. \nRemembered as having a certain quiet intelligence, Mailander was a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, Kappa Delta Pi and Pi Lambda Theta Educational Honorary Society. Her name also appeared on the Dean's List. \n"She was very intelligent but she had to work at it, it didn't come easily," said her father, Cyril "Don" Mailander Jr. \nMelanie's fun-loving and hardworking attitude made an impact on many, her father said. He was touched by the number of old teachers and friends that came to pay their last respects. \n"People were just so choked up," he said. "It made us feel good even though we were feeling horrible."\nFuneral services for Mailander were held Wednesday at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Michigan City. The family requests that donations be directed to any educational causes. \nState Trooper Rich Strong, who is investigating the accident, said he will be talking with witnesses of the crash during the next few days to try to answer questions surrounding the accident.\n"The main question is one, the speed of both vehicles, and two, why (Lighty) went into the median at all," he said. "Obviously we know what happened, but why they left the roadway has not been determined at this point."\nStrong said the final report on the accident can be expected in about two weeks.