Hammond, IN – A crash early Saturday brought the usually bustling traffic on Indiana’s I-80/94 to a jarring standstill, prompting an urgent aerial medical response to evacuate the critically injured.
Indiana State Police report the crash unfolded around 4:00 a.m. when a black Nissan Versa, operated by Rivianna Gilmore, 33, from Calumet Park, IL, veered off course and collided with a traffic arrow-board sign near the Kennedy Ave. exit. The impact launched the sign onto the roadway, triggering a chain of collisions that ensnared several unsuspecting motorists in a whirlpool of wreckage.
Two severely injured individuals, driving a van and pickup respectively, found themselves entrapped amid the twisted metal. Emergency crews worked fervently to extricate the victims from the debris, post which they were airlifted to medical facilities in Chicago and Oak Lawn.
Preliminary findings focused on Gilmore, allegedly Operating While Intoxicated (O.W.I.). Toxicology results are now pending analysis from the Indiana Department of Toxicology. Gilmore has since been transported to the Lake County Jail, now facing preliminary charges that include Operating While Intoxicated Causing Serious Injury, Operating While Intoxicated Endangering , Operating While Intoxicated, and Possession of Marijuana. Further charges may loom as the Lake County Prosecutor scrutinizes the details of the crash investigation.
