By Sophia Voravong and Dorothy Schneider

Investigators are hoping that surveillance video from nearby businesses will help determine which driver had the right-of-way in a two-vehicle crash Sunday night that killed a Harrison High School student.

Katherine Ann Baker, 16, was on her way to pick up a family member from work when her 2000 Buick LeSabre was struck on its driver side at U.S. 52 West and Morehouse Road, according to Aaron Gilman, a Tippecanoe County sheriff's deputy and member of the Lafayette Metro Fatal Alcohol Crash Team.

"Usually I am not at a loss for words but I am having difficulty here," her father, John Baker, said about his daughter -- a passionate reader and dedicated singer who went by the name Kate.

"My daughter was a wonderful person and we are going to miss her. This never should have happened."

Meanwhile, FACT officers, who are investigating the wreck, are trying to learn more about the other driver, 29-year-old Joseph L. Welch. He was arrested on suspicion of operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing death, OWI with a prior conviction and OWI with a blood-alcohol content of 0.15 percent or more.

Welch's blood-alcohol content after the crash was 0.21 percent, according to a crash report prepared by the sheriff's department. That's more than double Indiana's legal limit of 0.08 percent to drive.

It's believed that the West Lafayette man, who originally is from Texas, had been drinking Sunday night -- up until shortly before the crash occurred at 11:47 p.m. -- at Cox's Pub in Lafayette, Gilman said.

He said Kate Baker was turning left onto U.S. 52 West from Morehouse Road when her vehicle was hit by the front end of a 2008 Dodge Nitro driven by Welch.

She was on her way to pick up her brother, who works at a business on the West Lafayette Levee. Gilman said Kate Baker's brother got a ride from a friend after his sister did not show.

They came upon the crash and he recognized his sister's vehicle, Gilman said, relaying information from another officer who spoke with Kate Baker's father.

"There is a stoplight there, but we don't know yet who had the right-of-way," Gilman said. "We believe someone may have been there at the time and witnessed the crash but did not stop. There are a couple of different avenues that we can take to check."

He said authorities plan to contact the Indiana Department of Transportation to see whether they can check the timing of the traffic light. Investigators were reviewing surveillance video from businesses on Monday.

They also plan to take further measurements at the crash scene.

An autopsy on Kate Baker is scheduled for today.

Gilman said Welch was convicted of misdemeanor OWI for a May 2007 arrest in Spirit Lake, Iowa.

According to the prosecutor's office in Dickinson County, where Spirit Lake is located, Welch was ordered in August 2007 to serve two days in jail.

It was unclear whether Welch served that time.

He worked for a company that traveled to different states to work on windmills, said Lafayette police Sgt. Max Smith, commander of the FACT Team.

He said Welch most recently was working on windmills in Benton County.

A school mourns

As news of the crash spread Monday at Harrison High School, students and teachers struggled with the news, Principal Doug Lesley said. Counselors were on hand, though some students left midday because they were so upset.

Joe Barnard, Harrison's choral director, taught Kate Baker in the chamber choir and vocal jazz ensemble and also taught her older brother, Tom. He said Kate wanted to get into the jazz choir before her brother graduated so they could be in the class together, but it didn't work out.

"It's been a pretty tough time in my room today," Barnard said. "A lot of crying and talking about Kate."

John Baker said his daughter began singing around age 8 and joined the Bach Chorale Singers. She talked about studying music education in college.

Kate Baker was involved in many activities at school, Lesley said.

In addition to choir, she worked as a student aide for Barnard, participated in quiz bowl and was the school's ambassador for Rachel's Challenge. The national school program, named after the first victim killed in the 1999 Columbine High School shootings, teaches acceptance of others.

"As one student remarked today, she always made people feel comfortable to be around her," Lesley said. "Katherine was just a really neat kid."

Kate Baker's drive to help others started at an early age, John Baker said. Her father said that was one of many traits making her special.

"Her mother was killed when she was very young," he said. "She had always reached out to people, from a young age. She has been able to reach out and connect with adults and women."

Baker's mother, Linda, was killed 10 years ago in a vehicle-related crash in Tippecanoe County.

According to Journal & Courier archives, a car driven by Linda Baker, 44, stalled on Indiana 43, near the Interstate 65 junction in July 1998. After getting out of her car to get help, she was hit by another car.

On Monday afternoon, Kate Baker's friends visited the family's West Lafayette home and talked about how she touched their lives.

"It has been good to hear that," John Baker said. "To know how they all felt about her."

-- Contributing: Eric Weddle/eweddle@jconline.com

What you can do

Witnesses to Sunday's fatal crash at U.S. 52 West and Morehouse Road are asked to call the Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Department at (765) 423-9388.

Service information

Visitation will be from 1 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Soller-Baker West Lafayette Chapel, 1184 Sagamore Parkway West.

A Mass is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday at St. Boniface Catholic Church, 318 N. Ninth St. in Lafayette.