Officers from the Lake County Sheriff’s Department and Gary Police Department are investigating after a 15-year-old boy allegedly assaulted his mother, stole her SUV and caused a fatal crash Tuesday morning.

At approximately 8:15 a.m., the Gary Police Department requested the Lake County Sheriff’s Department Crash Reconstruction Unit to respond to the scene of a two-vehicle crash with one fatality and one serious injury at E. 39th Avenue and Georgia Street in Gary.

A preliminary investigation suggests a Chevy SUV was traveling north on Georgia St. at a high rate of speed when it struck the door of a westbound Hyundai Elantra wagon near the intersection. The SUV left the roadway, struck a stop sign and rolled over. The Hyundai came to rest more than 200 feet north of the intersection.
The driver of the Hyundai, a 40-year-old man from Gary, was declared deceased. The driver of the Chevy SUV was transported to a Chicago hospital. It’s believed he struck his mother in the head with a brick during a domestic disturbance before driving off in her SUV.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Department said on Tuesday its Crash Reconstruction Unit was investigating the crash. They also said the Gary Police Department is investigating the other circumstances of the case.