A Porter County police chase ended in a fatal crash Tuesday.
Sheriff's officers say they got an alert of a stolen Toyota Rav 4 heading west on U.S. 12 around 1:30 p.m. But police say when they tried to pull it over, the driver accelerated at a high rate of speed. About two minutes later, Indiana State Police say the Toyota crossed the center of the roadway just west of State Road 49 and hit a Pontiac Vibe that was heading east.
The driver of the Pontiac, Nicholas Trinidad, 41, of Muskegon, Michigan, was killed. The driver of the Toyota, Martell Harper, 37, was taken to the hospital and then to the Porter County Jail, where he faces multiple felony charges.
In a statement Wednesday, Sheriff Jeff Balon said his officers followed departmental policy with their pursuit and blamed the crash on what he called "the senseless and careless actions of an individual who was recklessly driving a confirmed stolen vehicle with a felony amount of illegal narcotics found in it."