A driver who fled from police crashed a vehicle at Kennedy Avenue and 162nd Street late Friday morning, leaving debris scattered in the roadway.
HAMMOND — A man believed to have stolen a vehicle out of Munster led a high-speed chase through neighborhood streets from Gary into Hammond, ending in a crash that trapped him inside the vehicle, police said.
At 11 a.m. Friday a Lake County Sheriff’s officer was patrolling near 21st Avenue and Grant Street when a silver vehicle was seen speeding and tailgating another car, a Lake County Sheriff’s Department police report said.
After the driver turned without signaling, the officer pulled over the vehicle. However as the officer walked up to the driver, the car sped away. A pursuit ensued, in which the driver allegedly sped through several stop signs and traffic lights, reaching 85 mph through neighborhood streets from Gary to Hammond, the police report said.
While fleeing east on 19th Avenue, the suspect went into the left lane and drove head-on toward Gary squad cars, with the officers narrowly avoiding collision.
Cutting through several yards, the vehicle continued the chase west on 15th Avenue while reaching speeds of 95 mph, police said. The driver was seen trying to run other vehicles off the road as he headed into Hammond on 169th Street, circling the Kenwood area.
Suddenly accelerating westbound through an alley, the driver jumped over a median and a curb onto Kennedy Avenue. The fleeing car then struck the passenger side of a truck that was going north on Kennedy Avenue near 162nd Street.
