School Starts Tomorrow, Watch out for Students and Buses

 
 

Be on the lookout for kids walking or biking to school as school gets underway for another year for many area school corporations tomorrow.

School bus safety is important. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, buses are built to be safer than the average passenger car. School bus drivers are required to receive special security and medical training, and undergo regular drug and alcohol testing to provide a safe ride for your child.

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Watch for School Bus Traffic as the School Season Starts

 
 

Students will be headed back to classrooms next week and Indiana State Police officers urge you to watch for school bus traffic.

When approaching a school bus from any direction and it is stopped with its flashing red lights activated and stop arm extended, motorists are required to stop, even on multiple lane highways. Motorists who are on a highway that is divided by a barrier or unimproved median are required to stop only if they are traveling in the same direction as the school bus. If there is no unimproved median or barrier, then all lanes in all directions must stop.

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LaPorte Man Arrested on Child Pornography, Child Exploitation Charges

Ronald E. Wheaton
Ronald E. Wheaton

A LaPorte man was arrested Monday afternoon after several police agencies served a state search warrant at his home.

Detectives with the Indiana State Police (ISP), ISP Crimes Against Children Detectives, North Mobile Forensic Vehicle, and the ISP K9 assisted the LaPorte City Police Department in serving the search warrant at 205 Woodward Street in LaPorte. It was there where officers found possible evidence that 34-year-old Ronald E. Wheaton was allegedly in the possession of child pornography.

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Play it Safe When Using Fireworks

 The Fourth of July is an exciting holiday filled with picnics and other celebrations that may include fireworks. Indiana State Police officers urge you to play it safe when using fireworks.

Only adults can purchase fireworks. A person 18 and older has to be present when anyone younger than 18 is using or possessing consumer fireworks. Children must be supervised at all times when fireworks are in use.

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Charges Expected Today Against Carjacking Suspect

 
 

Starke County Prosecutor Nicholas Bourff hopes to file formal charges today against the Knox man accused of stealing two cars and leading police on a high speed chase Friday afternoon. Police say Gary Chavez, 57, of Knox, commandeered the first car in the Mark Bailey’s Discount Center parking lot at 3:41 p.m. He switched vehicles in English Lake, according to authorities, and left the owner of the first stolen car behind when he took a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee.  Continue reading

Accused Carjacker Still Critical, Formal Charges Pending

Officers from the Crown Point Police Department used stop sticks to end a four-county high-speed chase Friday afternoon.
Officers from the Crown Point Police Department used stop sticks to end a four-county high-speed chase Friday afternoon.

The Knox man police say stole three vehicles and led officers from multiple departments on a high-speed chase through four counties Friday afternoon is still in critical condition at Christ Advocate Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Ill. The pursuit started in Starke County when Gary Chavez, 57, of Knox, allegedly stole a car at gunpoint from the parking lot at Mark Bailey’s Discount Center. Continue reading

Watch for Children at Play

06-09-14 Indiana State Police Summer Safety Tips picDon’t let summer turn tragic in your own front yard. More than 2,400 driveway accidents involving young children happen each year in the United States. Remember, young children are short, and they like to play. If they are very close to your vehicle, you won’t be able to see them. The Indiana State Police offer the following tips to help keep summer as safe as possible:
S
et rules with your children. No matter what their age, designate unwavering rules without options. Teach your children to watch for the white rear lights that illuminate when a car is in reverse. Tell your children when they see a car approaching the driveway or when a car is moving in the driveway, they all have to meet up in the yard or on the porch.

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Carjacker Critical at Chicagoland Hospital, Homicide Under Investigation

Officers from the Crown Point Police Department used stop sticks to end a four-county high-speed chase.
Officers from the Crown Point Police Department used stop sticks to end a four-county high-speed chase.

The Starke County man police say carjacked three vehicles and led police from multiple agencies on a four-county high-speed chase this afternoon is in critical condition at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Ill. after shooting himself while trying to flee. Information released by the Indiana State Police, Starke County Sheriff’s Department and Starke County Prosecutor’s Office indicates the 57-year-old man was involved in a homicide at a home in Knox. Afterward, he drove his personal vehicle to Mark Bailey’s Discount Center and carjacked a motorist at gunpoint at 3:41 p.m. He then drove to English Lake, dumped his passenger and stole a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee.

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Carjackings End With Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound

Starke County Sheriff's Deputy Bill Dulin and Prosecutor Nick Bourff speak to the media about the June 8, 2014 carjacking and ensuing pursuit.
Starke County Sheriff’s Deputy Bill Dulin and Prosecutor Nick Bourff speak to the media about the June 6, 2014 carjacking and ensuing pursuit.

A Starke County man police say carjacked a motorist at gunpoint at Mark Bailey’s Discount Center Friday afternoon led officers from multiple agencies on a high-speed chase through four counties before turning his gun on himself. Officials from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department will only say the man is 57-years-old. He took the car from the store at 3:41 p.m., according to authorities, and drove it to English Lake, where he left the owner of the first vehicle, stole a second car and fled. Continue reading

Officers Continue with Click it or Ticket Campaign

 A higher volume of traffic will be hitting the roads this Memorial Day holiday. Be aware that the police will be patrolling the highways for drivers who may be impaired, following too closely or may be unrestrained.

Indiana State Police officers and 249 other law enforcement agencies in the state are in the midst of the Click it or Ticket campaign. This enforcement focuses on seat belt usage and will be in full effect this weekend. It continues until June 1.

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Click it or Ticket Campaign to Begin May 9

 The Indiana State Police will be out in full force beginning Friday, May 9 for the Click it or Ticket seat belt enforcement campaign. The enforcement will continue until June 1.

More than 250 law enforcement agencies in Indiana will conduct special controls to identify and ticket unrestrained drivers and passengers. The focus will be on the Memorial Day weekend.

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Wreck Sends Driver to IU Health Starke Hospital

A two-vehicle wreck just before 11 a.m. on U.S. 35 just south of U.S. 30 sent the driver of one of the cars to the hospital. According to witnesses, the driver of the green Pontiac Sunfire did not stop when she came off the ramp from U.S. 30 onto U.S. 35. Her car hit the left side of a Chrysler Town and Country minivan owned by Braman and Son Memorial Chapel. It was northbound on 35 when the crash occurred. The Starke County Sheriff’s Department, Hamlet Police Department and Indiana State Police all responded. The driver of the Pontiac was taken to IU Health Starke Hospital by ambulance. There’s no word yet on the extent of her injuries or her name.

The Pontiac struck the left side of the minivan, which was northbound on U.S. 35.
The Pontiac struck the left side of the minivan, which was northbound on U.S. 35.
Witnesses say the driver of the Pontiac made no attempt to stop when she came off the eastbound exit ramp from U.S. 30 onto U.S. 35.
Witnesses say the driver of the Pontiac did not stop or yield.

 

Farmer Assists Trooper in Arrest

Photo provided by a trooper who was flying his personal aircraft in the area at the time.
Photo provided by trooper who was flying his personal aircraft in the area at the time.

A farmer helped an Indiana State Police trooper make an arrest last week.

A trooper spotted an erratic driver in Kosciusko County and a chase ensued. The suspect was able to get away but the trooper later saw the suspect’s vehicle parked in a driveway at 4985 N. 920 W. in Etna Green. The officer exited his car and found the suspect running through a farm field. The trooper returned to his car and paralleled the man on 400 North as the man began to run faster through the field.

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