A 23-year-old man faces criminal charges after leading police on two-state pursuit

A 23-year-old man faces criminal charges after leading police officers on a two-state pursuit in a stolen vehicle and crashing into two police patrol units.

Shortly before 1 p.m. on Monday, January 30, 2023, a Lake County Sheriff’s Department officer observed a light blue Honda crossover SUV traveling at a high rate of speed on Broadway in Gary.  The officer ran a check of the Illinois license plate, which revealed it had been reported stolen. The officer followed the SUV as it pulled into a gas station and parked at 15^th & Broadway.

Officers positioned two Lake County Sheriff’s Department patrol vehicles, one in front and one behind the SUV; in an attempt to prevent a pursuit.  The driver of the SUV shifted into reverse, hitting one patrol car. Then, the driver shifted the SUV into drive, striking the side of the other police unit before fleeing to Broadway and eventually heading southbound.  The fleeing suspect entered I-80 heading west, then exited at Grant Street and later reentered westbound I-80.  Gary police officers joined in the pursuit.

The suspect continued to drive at a high rate of speed, swerving in and of lanes of traffic and onto the shoulder multiple times before taking the Cline Avenue exit to the westbound Indiana Toll Road.

The fleeing driver smashed through a toll gate, sending debris flying into one of the pursuing Lake County patrol vehicles.  The SUV continued into Illinois, striking the mirror of a civilian van and exiting at 87^th Street.  Four males eventually jumped out of the SUV while it was still moving.  The SUV struck a civilian car parked in a parking lot.

A Lake County officer chased one of the suspects on foot and placed him in custody.  He is a 23-year-old from Chicago.

A Lake County Sheriff’s Department Aviation Unit helicopter and K-9 unit were able to assist in successfully locating a second suspect, who was also placed in custody and transported to a nearby hospital for treatment.  He is identified as a 23-year-old from Griffith, Indiana.  Officers retrieved a suspected narcotic and a syringe from his pants pocket.

The alleged driver is being held in Illinois pending extradition and criminal charges in Indiana.

Two additional suspects remain at large.

The case is still under investigation.