Driver Fled From Police Before Crashing In Griffith
Shortly after 10:30 AM, Sunday, 8/8/2021, Griffith police officers responded to an apartment located in the 800 block of Elmer,m in Griffith in reference to a report of a man who had, moments earlier, unlawfully entered the reporting party’s apartment, according to Griffith Police Chief Greg Mance.
As officers responded to the location, the reporting party relayed to the 911 operator that the suspect, a white male in his 20’s, had entered a white Kia and fled the scene. A Griffith officer, who was in the area, spotted a Kia Sorento driving northbound, through the front yard of the complex, Mance stated. In turn, the officer activated his marked squad car’s emergency lights and sirens to stop the driver the from fleeing. However, the driver of the Kia ignored the officer’s efforts and proceeded to flee from the officer as it traveled west on E Glen Park Ave, from Elmer Street. Near the intersection of E Glen Park Ave and N Broad Street, the driver of the Kia seemingly lost control of the vehicle which caused it to crash into another westbound vehicle. After striking the westbound vehicle, the Kia entered a business parking lot, located at 905 N Broad, where it struck an unoccupied vehicle.
Due to the damage caused by the crash, the suspect was trapped inside of the Kia and had to be extricated by members of the Griffith Fire Department. The suspect was ultimately freed and taken into custody without further incident. He was then transported to an area hospital for evaluation.
The driver and passenger of the westbound vehicle struck by the suspect reported no injuries and refused on-scene medical treatment.
The investigation of this incident continues, but evidence indicates that drugs and/or alcohol may have been a contributing factor, Mance told RNS.
The suspect, a 29-year-old white male with a last known address in Hammond, remains in police custody.
This incident remains under investigation and additional details will be released when the investigation is completed.
