LAKE CO., Ind. (ADAMS) – Indiana State Police say that charges are pending for a speeding driver that caused a crash in a reported stolen vehicle on Wednesday. ISP officials say the suspect, a Hammond, Indiana man stole a Kia from a Hobart, Indiana dealership and wound up crashing it into a semi while running from police.
Indiana State Police released the following:
Wednesday afternoon at approximately 4:30 p.m., the Indiana State Police Lowell Regional Dispatch Center received a 911 call from a passenger in a vehicle that was traveling on I-80/94 near the 10 mile-marker. The caller reported that he was being held against his will in a vehicle that had been taken for a test drive by the suspect. The suspect was reported to be driving at a high rate of speed and refused to pull over to let the victim get out of the vehicle. The vehicle, a 2009 Kia Borrego, had been taken for a test drive with the salesperson from a dealership, Bosco Family Motors, which is in Hobart, IN.
While the caller was on 911 with dispatchers, the driver of the Kia rear-ended a semi-trailer at a high rate of speed. The impact resulted in the car catching on fire and the victim being partially trapped inside of the vehicle. The victim was pulled out of the vehicle by Good Samaritans who stopped to help as troopers helped and put out the vehicle fire. The driver of the Kia, later identified as LaDarien D. Gregory, 29, from Hammond, IN, was located walking away from the scene. Both the suspect and victim were transported to Northlake Hospital in Gary for treatment. The driver of the semi was not injured. The victim was later flown to Loyola University Hospital for treatment of serious injuries. The suspect has since been released and transported to the Lake County Jail. *Mr. Gregory is being held on a probable cause hold for charges to be determined by the Lake County Prosecutor. The Indiana State Police Lowell Criminal Investigations Division responded to the scene and is continuing to investigate this incident.
*Indiana State Police remind that all charges are merely allegations, and all criminal defendants should be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
