3 injured in crash on I-80/94; 1 charged

A Munster man faces charges after crashing an SUV off an Interstate-80/ 94 exit ramp, allegedly after a night of drinking, last weekend.

Dylan J. Brown, 27, was charged Monday with causing serious bodily injury when operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a Level 5 felony, and two misdemeanors.

Charging documents state a blood draw was sent to the Indiana State Police lab, but do not list the results.

Brown and two passengers were injured and taken to the hospital. He was later transferred to the Lake County Jail, but after 48 hours he had to be released before formal charges could be filed.

Brown has not been apprehended and is ordered held on a $50,000 or $5,000 cash surety bond.

Indiana State Police responded at 4:34 a.m. Saturday to I-80/94 east near the 2.4 mile marker in Hammond.

A “heavily damaged” green Honda CR-V was in the ditch by the U.S. 41 south exit. The front end was smashed, all windows broken and debris scattered in the ditch.

Brown and a friend, 22, were standing over a third man, 28, sitting on the ground, who had been ejected. They were all bloody with torn clothes. The state trooper smelled alcohol on the men.

The latter man said he couldn’t feel one foot. Doctors later said he had a fractured pelvis, fractured collar bone, and at least one broken rib. He and another man also had a visible “head wound.” All three were injured and taken to the hospital.

The men told police they went to a strip club and were bar hopping that night. Brown declined to voluntarily take a chemical test. The cops got a search warrant for a blood draw.

mcolias@post-trib.com