Woman Killed In Crash After Stealing A Police Car In La Porte County
Late in the evening on January 31, 2024 a Westville Police Department Officer attempted stop a vehicle along US 421, according to the La Porte County Sheriff’s Office.
The female driver of the motor vehicle failed to yield, resulting in a motor vehicle pursuit. The pursuit continued southbound on US 421 and then west on US 30 into Porter County. Prior to reaching State Road 49, the fleeing vehicle turned and began traveling back eastbound on US 30 and into La Porte County again. The vehicle turned southbound on US 421 where a decision was made to terminate the pursuit in the interest of safety, according to the Sheriffs Office.
Several minutes later, information was received regarding a crash along US 421. Deputy Grimberg located the crash in the 14000 south block of US 421. The crashed vehicle was confirmed to be the same as that of the fleeing vehicle from several minutes earlier.
The driver of the vehicle was identified as Melissa L. Collins, 21, of Lafayette. Collins was taken into custody (handcuffed) at the scene, according to the La Porte Sheriff’s Office.
Collins was secured in the front passenger seat of a police car assigned to La Porte Sheriff’s Deputy David Grimberg. During this time it was determined that the suspect, Collins, was able to manipulate the handcuffs, unbuckle the seatbelt, took possession of the police car, and drove away from the scene in the stolen vehicle, according to a release from the Indiana State Police.
Officers at the scene attempted to catch up to the stolen police car but lost sight of the vehicle. As they were looking for the stolen police car, they came upon debris in the roadway in the area of 2100 S. and 875 W., and they located the stolen vehicle submerged in water in a farmers ditch. Evidence at the scene indicated that the vehicle crashed after crossing a set of railroad tracks at an extremely high rate of speed.
The driver was located inside the vehicle and was later pronounced deceased by the LaPorte County Coroner’s Office. Cause and manner of death will be determined through an autopsy by the LaPorte County Coroner.
