LaPorte County, IND. -- Indiana State Police say a 19-year-old man from Wyoming, Michigan, faces two felony charges and four misdemeanors following a fatal crash early Sunday in LaPorte County.
It happened around 12:30 a.m. on I-94, about three miles west of the Indiana/Michigan state line. An Indiana trooper's preliminary investigation revealed that two vehicles were heading west. Police say the 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt driven by Jordan M. Morrissey of Wyoming was traveling in the far-left lane at a high rate of speed while the two vehicles were in the curve of the roadway. The trooper said the Cobalt sideswiped the other vehicle, causing it to go off the road, through a guardrail and down an embankment.
Indiana State Police say a 73-year-old backseat passenger - Sarah J. Cantrell of Lake Station, IN., later died at a hospital. The driver and a front-seat passenger were treated for serious, life-threatening injuries.
The trooper on scene said he saw evidence of recent drug use inside Morrissey's vehicle and the odor of alcohol on his breath. He was given a field-sobriety test and agreed to a blood draw. Formal charges are pending. These are the preliminary charges provided by Indiana State Police in a news release:
- Operating While Intoxicated Causing Death- Level 4 Felony
- Operating While Intoxicated Causing Serious Bodily Injury- Level 5 Felony
- Operating While Intoxicated Endangering- Class A Misdemeanor
- Possession of Marijuana- Class B Misdemeanor
- Operating While Intoxicated- Class C Misdemeanor
- Minor Consumption of Alcoholic Beverage- Class C Misdemeanor
### [Photos from Indiana State Police social media]