HAMMOND, Ind. — An Indiana State Police trooper and intern sustained minor injuries after a drunk driver crashed into their parked patrol vehicle on Interstate 80 in Lake County late Thursday night.
The crash happened around 11:15 p.m. near Indianapolis Boulevard and I-80/94. The state trooper, in a fully marked vehicle, was parked on the shoulder of the highway when he was hit “at a high rate of speed” by a black Infiniti SUV.
Responding state troopers later found the SUV disabled and blocking multiple lanes of traffic on the interstate.
The trooper’s patrol vehicle “sustained heavy rear-end damage as well as driver’s side damage,” while pictures of the Infiniti shared by ISP show it with serious driver’s-side damage and a missing front wheel.
Police encountered the driver, 34-year-old Christopher Idom of Blue Island, Illinois, who reportedly “showed signs of impairment, including bloodshot and watery eyes and the odor of an alcoholic beverage.”
Idom refused to do any type of sobriety testing, according to state police, though he was subject to a blood draw after troopers received a warrant.
Idom was then booked into the Lake County jail on preliminary charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, operating while intoxicated as a first offense, and operating a vehicle with a suspended registration.
Officers also cited him for unsafe lane movement and operating without financial responsibility.
