ALLEN CO., Ind. (ADAMS) – A 17-year-old Orland girl has died from injuries she suffered in a crash in Steuben County. Febie Booher was found by police badly injured in the wreck around 7:20 Tuesday morning near the intersection of State Road 327 and County Road 350 N in Jackson Township. She died before a helicopter arrived to take her to a hospital. The sheriff’s office says she was not wearing a seat belt when a pickup truck hit her vehicle.
The following was released:
On 06/16/2026 at around 7:20 am, Steuben County Sheriff’s deputies and area first responders were called to the intersection of SR 327 and CR 350 N in rural Jackson Township for a report of a 2-vehicle crash. The 911 caller indicated that one of the drivers involved was unconscious. When rescue crews from the Orland Fire Department arrived, they found an unresponsive female crash victim inside one of the vehicles involved.
The victim was removed from the vehicle and immediate emergency medical treatment was administered by Orland Fire Rescue and Steuben County EMS. A request was also made for the Parkview Samaritan helicopter to come to the scene for transport to Parkview Regional Medical Center. Initial responding deputies arrived and conducted a preliminary crash scene investigation.
Initial crash investigation indicated that a white 2011 Ford F-150 pickup truck driven by 36-year-old Jessica Gaetz of rural Orland, IN was traveling northbound on SR 327 approaching CR 350 N while a tan 2017 Chevy Malibu driven by 17-year-old Febie Booher of rural Orland, IN was stopped on CR 350 N at SR 327. As Gaetz’s vehicle was approaching the intersection, Booher entered the intersection into the path of the northbound Ford pickup truck. Gaetz applied the brake and swerved in an attempted to avoid a collision but was unable to. Gaetz’s vehicle then collided with the driver’s side of Booher’s vehicle at the intersection.
Despite numerous life saving measures by Steuben County EMS and Orland Fire Rescue, Booher succumb to her injuries sustained in the crash and died at the scene. Gaetz was transported to Cameron Hospital by EMS for treatment of minor injuries including a possible broken wrist. The Steuben County FACT crash investigation team was called out to the scene to assist in the investigation. The weather was clear and the roadway was dry at the time of the crash. Booher was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. Gaetz was wearing her seatbelt and airbags did deploy in both vehicles.
Alcohol is not believed to be a factor in the crash which remains under investigation by the Sheriff’s Office. Assisting the Sheriff’s Office at the scene were Angola Police, Orland Fire, Steuben County EMS, and the Parkview Samaritan Helicopter.
Comments