Driver fleeing police crashes
Three Portage police officers pulled an injured person from a burning car after a car chase and resulting crash that started Wednesday morning with a report of shoplifting at Walmart, police said.
The events began to unfold around 9:15 a.m. when Portage police responded to Walmart, 6087 U.S. 6, for a reported theft. The store’s loss prevention associate reported that a person had stolen alcohol and other housewares and was last seen traveling westbound on U.S. 6 in a maroon Lexus, according to a release.
Officers saw the vehicle traveling northbound on Willowcreek Road and attempted a traffic stop near Central Avenue. The vehicle fled from the officers northbound on Willowcreek Road and onto the Willowcreek Bypass.
The driver missed a curve and struck the raised concrete curb and guardrail on the east side of the road, giving the car a flat tire on the passenger side which police said slowed its speed.
The car continued onto westbound Interstate 94 and exited onto the northbound Indiana 51 ramp. As the car approached the top of the ramp, it slid sideways, striking the concrete barrier separating northbound and southbound traffic on the driver’s side.
The second collision disabled the car completely. The driver, who was not wearing a seatbelt, sustained serious internal injuries and was found unconscious when offi cers approached the car, police said.
At that time, a fire erupted in the engine compartment and smoke began filling the passenger compartment. Three officers pulled the driver from the car and took him a safe distance away to begin medical aid while a fourth officer used a fire extinguisher to put the fire out.
The driver, 37, sustained critical injuries and was taken by helicopter to the University of Chicago’s trauma center. Stolen items from what appeared to be several different thefts were recovered from inside the car, police said. The car itself was reported stolen on Oct. 10 through the Gary Police Department.
The driver, whose identity is not being released at this time, faces felony charges of theft; possession of a stolen automobile; and resisting arrest. He also faces misdemeanor counts of reckless driving; criminal recklessness; and numerous traffic violations.
One Portage officer sustained a minor laceration when pulling the driver from the burning car and one Portage police vehicle sustained damage when pieces from the vehicle’s rim flew off and struck the windshield during the chase.
The investigation resulted in the northbound lanes of Ind. 51 being closed until around 11 a.m.
The Ogden Dunes Police Department; Indiana State Police; Lake Station Police Department; Hoosier Helpers; Lake County Sheriff ’s Department; Lake Station Fire/EMS; and the University of Chicago Medicine Aeromedical network assisted.