Women & Infant Dead After Police Chase On 80/94
On Friday, 1/7/2022 at approximately 11:30 a.m. officers with the Lake County Sheriff’s Department attempted to stop a driver in a Black Audi who was traveling at a high rate of speed and disregarded a traffic signal near 25th Avenue and Broadway in Gary, according to Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr.
The driver accelerated, refusing to stop, heading southbound near Broadway and I-80/94. The driver continued traveling at high speeds which caused officers to lose sight of the vehicle. Eventually the driver swerved in and out of lanes of traffic on I-80/94 and struck the rear end of a semi near Colfax St.
A 20 year old female passenger from Matteson, IL was killed instantly, as well as an infant in a car seat, Martinez stated. The Lake County Coroner has identified the woman as Britni Griffin. Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. requested that Indiana State Police handle reconstruction of the accident.
The driver (suspect) 21 year old Eric White from Gary was transported to the hospital with head injuries and later released and booked into Lake County Jail. White also was booked for illegal possession of a handgun with many other charges still pending. It was discovered that back in November, White was arrested by Lake County Sheriff’s Department officers after another vehicle pursuit for resisting and fled from Illinois police another time.
Indiana State Police preliminary investigation into the crash shows that at approximately 11:32 a.m., the Lake County Sheriff’s Department was engaged in a pursuit of a 2010 Audi A5. During the pursuit, the driver of the Audi lost control of the vehicle and rear ended a semi-trailer in the right lane, according to Sgt. Glen Fifield. After striking the trailer, the Audi spun across all lanes and drove into the median wall. After hitting the wall, the Audi then continued back across the lanes in front of the same semi that it had rear-ended and was struck on the passenger side by the front of the semi. The Audi came to a final rest wedged under the front bumper of the semi. At some point during the initial impact with the trailer, an adult female passenger suffered fatal injuries and was ejected from the vehicle. A small child who was in a car seat on the rear passenger side of the Audi also suffered fatal injuries.
“Any loss of life in such horrifying circumstances is tragic, but the loss of a child is especially disturbing. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who lost their lives during this incident,” said Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. “Police officers are faced with tragedy daily, but considering the circumstances with this incident, we are offering to help officers cope,” Sheriff Martinez said.
