A dentist with a practice in North Judson is formally charged in a La Porte County accident where one person died and two other people were injured.
Police say 46-year-old Jeffrey Bilyak was driving northbound in his red pickup truck in heavy fog shortly before 1 p.m. CT on Thursday, February 15, when he attempted to pass a semi in the area of the 19400 S. block of U.S. 421, north of LaCrosse. It was then when Bilyak’s truck hit a southbound ambulance head-on causing injury to himself, the driver and EMT inside the ambulance, plus a patient being transported to Indianapolis for medical treatment, according to police.
Bilyak was allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident. According to the affidavit of probable cause, Bilyak’s blood alcohol content was 0.218. In the criminal information, his blood alcohol content is listed as 0.173.
Court documents say the ambulance driver, Jacob Levin, suffered a fracture to his leg that will require surgery, and the EMT, Eric Gunia, has continuing issues as a result of the crash. The patient, 47-year-old Heather Widing, of Portage, died as a result of blunt force trauma, complicated by cirrhosis, as determined in an autopsy report recorded in the affidavit of probable cause filed in La Porte County Circuit Court.
The La Porte County Deputy Prosecutor’s Office filed felony charges against Bilyak on Thursday, March 22, that include operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated causing death, reckless homicide, and two counts of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury.
