Hammond Man Dies In Hobart Crash & Fire Response Times Questioned
On October 4, 2020, Hobart Officers were dispatched to the 3400 block of North Hobart Road in reference to a traffic crash, according to Captain James Gonzales of the Hobart Police. When Officers arrived on scene they saw two vehicles that appeared to have been involved in a head on crash. Officers noticed that both drivers weren’t responsive and they were unconscious, the Officers attempted to gain entry into one of the vehicles, but were unable to, due to the severity of the damage, Gonzales stated. The Officers attempted to make entry into the second and they were able to gain entry and remove the driver. Shortly after the Officers removed the driver from the second vehicle, the vehicle caught fire and was fully engulfed in flames and destroyed the vehicle, Gonzales said.
The driver of the first vehicle, who was trapped inside of the vehicle succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased by the Lake County Coroner’s Office on scene. The driver was identified as Justin Davis, 40, of Hammond.
The driver of the second vehicle was transported to an area hospital for treatment, and was identified as a 34-year-old female with an address listed in Lake Station and her condition is unknown. She was later airlifted for further treatment.
Due to the severity of the accident and a death was involved, an Accident Reconstruction Investigator from the Lake County Sheriff’s Department responded to the scene and this is still an active investigation.
A witness told police that she was traveling southbound on the 3400 block of North Hobart Road and she noticed headlights in her rear-view mirror approaching her at a high rate of speed. She said the vehicle attempted to pass her and swerved into the northbound lane, she said she also saw a vehicle traveling northbound in the northbound lane and then she heard the two vehicles collide.
Evidence documented at the scene indicates that drugs and alcohol may have been a contributing factor to the crash.
“This is a tragic accident; our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the decedent and the surviving driver who is being treated for her injuries, Gonzales said.
RNS addressed concerns from Hobart residents about response times and the closure of a fire station located only blocks from the scene. The time of response for this crash would have been a minute or two if the station remained open. We reached out to Hobart Fire Department about response times after the second deadly crash here in two weeks. The first being the motorcycle accident linked below this article.
“First and foremost, our deepest heartfelt condolences go out to the victims, their families, and everyone involved in this tragic incident,” Assistant Fire Chief John Reitz expressed to RNS.
“It has always been the goal of the Hobart Fire Department to have a response time of six minutes or less,” Reitz stated. “Budgetary limitations have forced us to put a reduced number of firefighters on the street, which has resulted in the closing of a firehouse.”
“Additionally, a second firehouse has limited staffing on most days, leaving only two fully staffed firehouses across the city.” Optimal minimum staffing, if all firehouses were open, would be 16 on duty everyday, Reitz told RNS.
For the month of September, average daily staffing was 12, with an average response time of 9.8 minutes, the response time to this accident was 9 minutes, according to Reitz.
