A Thursday morning grain elevator explosion in LaCrosse that badly burned four Co-Alliance employees appears to have been the result of an industrial accident, according to officials with the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, OSHA and Indiana State Fire Marshal’s Office are continuing the investigation, which could take a couple of days to conclude.

That’s standard operating procedure. The explosion happened just before 9 a.m. and rocked the town of LaCrosse. One neighbor initially thought it was thunder until he heard sirens. Another suspected an earthquake may have occurred until she looked across State Road 8 and saw the side of the silo was gone.

Employees Jonah Pacione, 19, and Emilio Galicia, 43, were taken to St. Joseph Burn Center in Fort Wayne. Craig Chase, 34, and Chris Fort, 26, are patients at Porter Memorial Hospital in Valparaiso. None of the injuries are believed to be life-threatening. Co-Alliance CEO Kevin A. Still says company personnel will be on-site at the hospitals to provide support and assistance to the employees and their families.

Officials with the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department are concerned about the structural integrity of the building and caution bystanders to remain clear of the site in case the precarious silo falls. They secured the area last night, and additional security will be provided until more permanent arrangements can be made.

 

Authorities in LaPorte County say road rage may have been a factor in a fatal two-vehicle Sunday night crash near Union Mills. Michael Edwards, 38, of LaPorte, died en route to a medical helicopter that had been summoned to the crash site in the 8500 block of County Road 600 West. The second driver, Bryan Baker, 21, of Hobart, was treated at IU Health LaPorte Hospital and released.

Officials with the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department say the incident started on State Road 2 near Valpariso and continued east into LaPorte County, where the drivers eventually wound up on 800 South. Shortly after both vehicles turned south onto 600 West, they say Edwards tried to pass Baker’s car. The vehicles collided, and Baker ran off the road into a field. Edwards’ car went off the west side of the road and struck a utility pole before coming to rest in a farm field. That happened just after 9 p.m. Sunday night.

Sheriff’s department officials say blood draws on both men indicated traces of alcohol, but not enough for them to be considered driving under the influence. The investigation is continuing, and the road is now open again to traffic.

 

It’s summer vacation, do you know where your children are? Now that school is out, deputies from the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Office will be cracking down on curfew violations. The county follows the state law, but some communities may have more stringent requirements.

The state policy does not allow children between the ages of 15 and 17 to be in a public place between the hours of 1 and 5 a.m. on a Saturday or Sunday or after 11 p.m. and before 5 a.m. on weekdays. Children under age 15 can’t be in public between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. on any day of the week.

LaPorte County deputies will also be on the lookout for underage drinkers and minors in possession of alcohol, both of which are misdemeanor offenses. Sheriff John Boyd says the department’s zero tolerance for both had helped to reduce the frequency of injuries and death that are often associated with teens and alcohol.

Anyone who might have been in the area of U.S. 421 and Alida Road prior to this Tuesday morning crash is asked to contact Det. Scott Boswell with the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Office at 219-326-7700 extension 2443. Photo provided by the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department

The investigation into a Tuesday morning crash on U.S. 421 in LaPorte County that injured five people is continuing. Investigators with the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department say a Ford Expedition driven by 44-year-old Patrick Michaels of Wanatah was northbound near Alida Road around 5:30 a.m. and collided with a southbound GMC Sierra pickup truck driven by 43-year-old Vincent Fischer of Valparaiso. Officers say four passengers, 40-year-old Logan Fischer, 17-year-old Cheyenne Fischer and 10-year-old Duncan Fischer, all of Valparaiso, were passengers in the truck. Vincent, Logan and Duncan were the most critically injured and were flown to an area hospital. The other two were taken by ambulance for treatment.

Detectives from the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction Team believe Fischer’s vehicle was left of the center line prior to the crash. They say nothing indicates alcohol or drugs were factors in the wreck. Investigators do want to talk to the driver of a northbound vehicle, possibly a Dodge Neon, that was reportedly just ahead of the expedition before the crash occurred. Anyone who may have been in the area at the time of the crash or who may have witnessed the accident is asked to contact Detective Scott Boswell with the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Office at 219-326-7700 extension 2443.

 The LaPorte Coujnty Metro Operations Unit is investigating an active meth lab in Kingsford Heights. The sheriff’s department got a call just before 5 a.m. today about people “cooking” methamphetamine at a home in the 300 block of Evanston Road. So far six adults have been detained for questioning in connection with the ongoing investigation.

Officials say six children were also in the home. Checks by staff at IU Health LaPorte Hospital found they did not sustain any injuries. The children have been placed in the care of DCS. Criminal charges are anticipated. Authorities have not released names of any of the people involved. Investigators from the Metro Operations Unit are being assisted by the Indiana State Police Meth Suppression Team, Kingsford Heights Marshals Office, Kingsford Union Fire Department and LaPorte County Emergency Medical Services.

A man recently released from prison, and convicted of murder and child molesting, has a history in the Pulaski County Court system.

67-year-old Richard Dobeski was let out of an Indiana Department of Corrections Facility in New Castle this month. He was convicted on two counts of murder dating back to 1965.

The LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department has advised that Dobeski has, since his release, begun residing in LaPorte county. In a news release over the weekend, authorities say he has seven days to register as a sex offender.

Dobeski’s history in the court system even reaches into Pulaski County. In 2007, he was charged by the State of Indiana with a Class C Felony Count of Attempted Criminal Confinement. The arrest followed the issuance of a search warrant.

According to Dobeski’s Chronological Case Summary, he was found indigent by the courts and appointed Daniel P. Murphy as his defense attorney. Murphy now serves as the Pulaski County Prosecuting Attorney.

Murphy confirmed that an individual can only be charged with Criminal Confinement if they allegedly hold a person without consent. The felony system has since been changed to levels, but at the time, a Class C Felony is applied only if the victim is under 14 years of age at the time, or if the alleged incident was committed using a vehicle. Dobeski attempted to lure three young boys into his car in Monterey, according to then-Sheriff Mike Gayer. The youngsters ran home and told their parents, who drove around town and located him, wrote down his license plate number, and called the sheriff’s department.

Investigators from Pulaski County tried to find him at a trailer park in Westville. Gayer says Dobeski wasn’t home, but neighbors advised boys and girls from the neighborhood frequented his house. Officers got a search warrant for the trailer and recovered evidence used to convict him of child molesting and child exploitation in LaPorte County in 2008. The lesser charges in Pulaski County were subsequently dismissed since the LaPorte County offenses carried a more strict punishment.

Dobeski was later arrested and convicted on Child Exploitation and Child Molesting charges in 2008 according to LaPorte County authorities.

In their release, law enforcement officials stated Dobeski has not been charged with a crime, but said they wanted to inform the public about the release.

A pair of Hammond men face felony burglary charges in LaPorte County after sheriff’s deputies reportedly caught them trying to flee from a Wanatah business early Monday morning.

The officers responded within three minutes to an alarm call at Pactiv Corporation on U.S. 30 just east of Wanatah. When they arrived at 2:41 a.m. they saw two suspects running from the back of the building.

One was apprehended before he was able to climb over a fence, according to the police report. The other was located just outside the fenced property. Both were arrested without incident, and items believed stolen were recovered.

The suspects are identified as 22-year-old Julio Feliciano and 36-year-old Carlos Santiago. They are scheduled to make their initial court appearances in LaPorte County tomorrow.

The post LaPorte County Sheriff’s Deputies Nab Burglary Suspects appeared first on WKVI Information Center.

A Gary man faces a felony charge after a LaPorte County Seriff’s Dputy reportedly clocked him driving twice the posted speed limit this morning west of Rolling Prairie.

The deputy spotted a black Honda Accord traveling eastbound on U.S. 20 at 200 East around 7:20 a.m. The speed limit is 55, but the arrest report indicates the driver, later identified as 23-year-old Steven Reeves, was doing 110. Reeves reportedly slowed down, made a u-turn and went west for a short distance before pulling into a driveway in the 2300 block of U.S. 20.

The deputy pulled into the driveway behind the Honda. Reeves said he was on his way to work in South Bend and reportedly admitted trying to elude the officer. He was arrested on preliminary charges of reckless driving and resisting law enforcement with a vehicle.

LaPorte County Sheriff John Boyd said in a statement, “to be traveling 110 miles per hour on one of our most heavily traveled roads during a time when school buses are picking up our students is the very definition of reckless.” He notes patrol deputies have stepped up enforcement efforts during peak travel times and says their efforts paid off this morning.

The post LaPorte County Pursuit Ends With Arrest appeared first on WKVI Information Center.

A recent vehicle theft in Hammond results in the discovery of a possible automotive chop shop in Michigan City.

Federal, state and LaPorte County authorities served a search warrant at a property in the 7900 block of West Country Road 350 North yesterday and arrested the owner, 48-year-old Thomas Lambert, on a felony theft warrant. It was issued after sheriff’s deputies reportedly found parts from a stolen vehicle on the property during a Nov. 23^rd investigation.Yesterday investigators spent several hours on the property, where they reportedly found dozens of vehicles and parts of vehicles, engines, transmissions and watercraft. They will be checking the items against a national database to determine whether they are stolen. LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department officials say the case remains open, and the investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to call LaPorte County Sheriff’s Captain Pat Cicero at 219-326-7700 extension 2404.

The post LaPorte County Authorities Investigating Possible Chop Shop appeared first on WKVI Information Center.

A LaPorte man faces intimidation charges in Starke County after he reportedly threatened several people with a gun at a Knox residence yesterday.

Officers from the Knox Police Department responded to an address in the 1000 block of East Washington Street. The caller told them 41-year-old Deion S. Manns was there to retrieve property. An argument ensued, and Manns reportedly pointed a handgun and threatened the people there.

Manns left in a black passenger car before the police arrived. They traced him to an address in the 800 block of south 300 East in LaPorte, where he was arrested by deputies from the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department.

Manns is jailed in Starke County on a preliminary charge of intimidation as a Level 5 felony. Formal charges are pending.

The post Intimidation Charges Pending After Knox Incident appeared first on WKVI Information Center.

Air bags and seatbelts are credited with saving a Valparaiso man from serious injury when his Toyota Prius rear-ended a garbage truck this morning in LaPorte. The crash happened around 6 a.m. on State Road 2 near the LaPorte County Fairgrounds, according to officials with the sheriff’s department. The car sustained major damage, but the driver, 57-year-old Eugene Ritter, was able to walk away. He refused medical treatment.

The post Valparaiso Man Walks Away from LaPorte County Crash appeared first on WKVI Information Center.

Cooperation between the Indiana State Police and LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department led to the safe return of a Gary woman to her home after a family member reported her missing.

The daughter of 92-year-old Irene Henley contacted the Gary Police Department Tuesday evening to file a missing person’s report. She advised her mother was last seen leaving a friend’s house in Gary earlier in the day.

A Good Samaritan found Henley later that evening near LaCrosse, where she had crashed her vehicle and run off the roadway near a residence. She began honking the car’s horn, and that’s what attracted the attention of the person who assisted her and called the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department.

Henley was not hurt, but her vehicle was towed. Her family did not have the ability to get her from LaCrosse back to Gary. LaPorte County Sheriff’s Deputy Neil Lachmund took her to the LaPorte/Porter County line, where he met up with Senior Trooper Lawrence McFarrin. He took Henley to her home in Gary.

The post LaPorte County Deputy, State Trooper Assist Crash Victim appeared first on WKVI Information Center.

One person is dead following a head-on collision on U.S. 421 between Wanatah and LaCrosse Thursday afternoon.

Officials from the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department say a southbound Pontiac Grand Prix driven by 22-year-old Ryan Halcarz of Valparaiso was passing in a no-passing zone and lost control. His car struck a northbound BMW driven by 65-year-old Judith Tudor of West Lafayette. She had to be cut from the wreckage and was taken to Porter Hospital where she was pronounced dead of blunt force trauma around 4:30 p.m. A passenger in Tudor’s car was not injured.

Neither was Halcarz. Investigators say he tested negative for alcohol. He was cited for passing in violation of signs or markings. The crash investigation is ongoing. Once it’s complete a copy of the report and findings will be sent to the LaPorte County Prosecutor’s Office for review and the possible filing of criminal charges.

U.S. 421 was shut down for about three hours between U.S. 30 and State Road 8 as a result of the crash.

The post LaPorte County Crash Claims a Life appeared first on WKVI Information Center.

One person is dead and another is hospitalized in critical condition following a single-vehicle crash near LaCrossee late last night. Patrol deputies from the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department responded at 11:17 p.m. to State Road 8 just east of 600 West. They found a black 1999 Dodge Ram truck on its side.

A man and woman had been thrown from the vehicle. The man was pinned under the truck and was deceased, according to the crash report. The woman was unconscious. She was initially taken to IU Health LaPorte Hospital and transferred to South Bend Memorial in critical condition.

The crash remains under investigation. Preliminary findings indicate the truck was traveling east of 600 West, left the roadway on the north side, traveled along a ditch line and hit an embankment. Road conditions at the time were icy with blowing snow, according to investigators. Neither the driver nor the passenger was wearing seatbelts, and alcohol is believed to be a factor.

Names have not been released pending next of kin notification.

The post Alcohol Believed Factor in LaPorte County Fatality appeared first on WKVI Information Center.

A mobile home fire in LaPorte County claims a life. It occurred thismorning at 7701 South U.S. 6 and 35, according to officials with the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Office. That’s just outside of Kingsford Heights. The Kingsford-Union and Kingsbury Fire Departments were dispatched to a medical alarm call at 9:19 a.m. They arrived five minutes later and found smoke coming from inside the trailer.

Firefighters entered the structure after a fire engine arrived and extinguished the flames. They found the victim inside the home after the fire was out, according to officials with the sheriff’s office.

An investigator from the state fire marshal’s office and investigators from the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Office are working to determine the cause and origin of the fire. They do not believe the fire and death are suspicious.

The victim’s name has not been released pending notification of the next of kin.

The post Firefighters Find Body in Kingsford Heights Trailer appeared first on WKVI Information Center.

Alcohol, speed and slick roads were factors in a single-vehicle crash near LaCrosse that claimed life and sent another person to a South Bend hospital.

It happened just after 11 p.m. Tuesday on State Road 8 just east of 600 West, according to officials with the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department. Deputies found a black 1999 Dodge Ram truck on its side and say a man and woman had been thrown from the vehicle. Neither were wearing seatbelts, according to investigators.

The man was pinned under the wreckage and was pronounced dead of blunt force trauma. He’s been identified as 48-year-old Anthony Peterson of Crown Point. The woman, 38-year-old Dawn Pappas of Hanna, was transferred from the hospital in LaPorte to South Bend Memorial, where she’s listed in critical condition.

Investigators say it’s unclear who was driving. They say Peterson tested .12 percent BAC, and Pappas tested .21. The presumed level of intoxication is .08.

The crash remains under investigation. Initial findings indicate the truck was traveling east of 600 West, left the roadway on the north side, traveled along a ditch line and hit an embankment. Roads were icy with blowing snow when the crash happened.

The post Names, Details Released in LaCrosse Fatality appeared first on WKVI Information Center.

An investigation by the LaPorte County Metro Operations Task Force resulted in the arrest of a LaPorte man on drug charges.

Officers served an arrest warrant on 22-year-old Jesse Sroka Wednesday afternoon, according to a news release. He’s charged with two counts of dealing cocaine or a narcotic drug. Both are level 4 felonies, which are punishable by up to 12 years in prison and fines of up to $10,000.

Investigators say the arrest was the culmination of their continued efforts to eradicate heroin distribution in LaPorte County. They note the investigation into Sroka’s activities is ongoing, and additional criminal charges will be filed.

Anyone with information about drug activity in LaPorte County is encouraged to contact the Metro Operations at 219-325-9022 or visit their Iternet tip site at www.lpmetro/portal.com.

The LaPorte County Metro Operations is a multi-agency task force made up of officers from the LaPorte City Police Department, Indiana State Police and LaPorte County Sheriff’s Office.

The post Drug Investigation Results in Arrest appeared first on WKVI Information Center.

One person is dead following a single-vehicle crash this morning in LaPorte County. It happened on U.S. 20 just west of Fail Road shortly after 8 a.m., according to sheriff’s department officials.

Deputies say a passenger vehicle was eastbound on U.S. 20, lost control, left the south side of the road and hit a tree. Weather and speed are believed to be factors. The victim’s name has not been released yet, pending next of kin notification.

U.S. 20 was closed until about 10 a.m. The LaPorte County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by LaPorte County EMS, the LaPorte County Coroner’s Office and the Kankakee and Springfield Township Fire Departments.

The post LaPorte County Crash Claims a Life appeared first on WKVI Information Center.

LaPorte County Coroner John Sullivan has released the name of the man killed this morning in a single-vehicle crash on U.S. 20.

Terry Peterson, 38, of Michigan City, was pronounced dead at the crash site from blunt force trauma. Kankakee Township Firefighters had to cut him from the 2008 Lincoln Zephyr he was driving. Peterson was wearing a seatbelt.

LaPorte County Sheriff’s Deputies are still talking to witnesses who saw the crash. Their initial investigation indicates the car was driving too fast on wet roads. The crash happened shortly after 8 a.m. on U.S. 20 just west of Fail Road. Deputies say the car was eastbound on U.S. 20, lost control and left the south side of the road. Sheriff’s department officials say the driver’s door hit the tree first. Weather and speed are believed to be contributing factors.

U.S. 20 was closed until about 10 a.m. The LaPorte County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by LaPorte County EMS, the LaPorte County Coroner’s Office and the Kankakee and Springfield Township Fire Departments.

The post Authorities Release Name of Crash Victim appeared first on WKVI Information Center.

A one-year-old child was airlifted to Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis today after the vehicle in which he was riding was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer on U.S. 20 in LaPorte County.

The crash happened around 10 a.m., according to officials with the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Office. They say a 1999 Cadillac Escalade was stopped in the left, eastbound lane of U.S. 20 waiting to turn left onto County Road 400 West and was struck by a Volvo semi trailer hauling a coil of steel.

The impact knocked the SUV across the westbound lanes of U.S. 20., and a passenger needed to be cut from the vehicle. All three occupants were initially taken to St. Anthony Hospital in Michigan City. The driver, Mathieu Lawrence, 33, and passenger, 29-year-old Alex Taylor, both of rural LaPorte County sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

The infant, Marc Lawrence, was properly restrained in a rear-facing car seat, according to the accident report. He sustained head injuries and was flown from Michigan City to Indianapolis.

The truck driver, 58-year-old Ratko Dubroja of Cedar Lake was not injured.

The highway was closed for about two hours for cleanup.

The post Child Airlifted After Rear-End Wreck appeared first on WKVI Information Center.