Northwest Indiana Discussion

Merrillville man dies after jump from Interstate 65 overpass

Posted: Tuesday, December 15, 2009 12:00 am | (7) Comments

MERRILLVILLE | A Merrillville man committed suicide Monday afternoon by jumping from the 73rd Street overpass onto Interstate 65, Indiana State Police said.

The 33-year-old landed in the middle lane of southbound traffic and was hit by a car. The Times typically does not identify suicide victims.

A police spokesman said state police received multiple emergency calls while the man was standing on the bridge, when he jumped and when he landed on I-65 about 2:25 p.m. No foul play was suspected, and police believe no one else was on the bridge, the spokesman added.

The man was taken to the Methodist Hospitals Southlake Campus in Merrillville, where he was pronounced dead of massive blunt force trauma, police said. -- By Times Staff

Man dies after driving into Lemon Lake

Coroner: Death was an apparent suicide



CENTER TWP. | A Hanover Township man drowned Tuesday afternoon after driving his minivan onto the frozen surface of Lemon Lake and remaining in the vehicle until it plunged into the icy waters.

The 27-year-old was pronounced dead at 1:52 p.m. by hospital staff at St. Anthony Medical Center in Crown Point, a Lake County coroner's office spokesman said.

His death is being investigated as an apparent suicide, coroner's officials said. The Times typically does not disclose the identity of suicide victims.

More than 50 emergency responders, including crews from Crown Point, Cedar Lake, Gary, Hobart, Lakes of the Four Seasons and Lake County Aquatics Underwater Recovery and Rescue Inc. aided in the rescue effort.

Mark Baumgardner Sr., the Crown Point Fire Rescue Division chief of operations, said the man was in the water for about 55 minutes before divers got him out.

He was wearing a shirt and tie.

While emergency personnel transported him to St. Anthony, another set of divers conducted a secondary search to make sure there were no other victims, Baumgardner said. The man was alone in the Ford Astro Van.

One witness told a police officer the driver was doing doughnuts on the ice when it broke.

Baumgardner said ice on the lake Tuesday was 2 to 3 inches thick in most places. Ice should be 10 to 12 inches thick before walking on it, he added.

A pair of tire tracks curved from the road, down a grassy hill and onto the frozen edges of the lake.

The van plummeted into the water when the ice broke, a witness told police. That witness called 911 just after noon Tuesday from the Lemon Lake County Park.

The man apparently drove across 100 yards of grass and 200 yards of frozen lake before sinking, Lake County Police Chief Marco Kuyachich said.

Kuyachich said Lake County detectives, who are handling the investigation, have not yet determined the circumstances that led to the 27-year-old's death.

First, the van will be inspected to rule out any mechanical malfunction, he said. The Lake County Aquatics team cut a hole in the ice Tuesday afternoon and towed the van from the water.

Investigators will also review toxicology results from the coroner's office.

Add in the guy who shot his brother (thankfully not fatally) then killed himself.

Yes it is wonderful look at all the short sells of Mansions in Crown point Indiana.

The scumbags are fleeing like rats from a sinking ship!

http://www.homes.com/For-Sale/IN/CROWN%20POINT/

Anything on your mind you want to discuss?[/sacasm]

You're like a broken record today chief.

Every thread in every forum.

It's more fun to agitate

Now they're saying the 12-year-old in Gary was a suicide. Maybe he read Geronimo's posts and decided there was nothing to live for.

I see you also love to agitate

Gary boy's death ruled a suicide

By Times Staff | Posted: Friday, December 18, 2009 12:00 am | 1 Comment

CROWN POINT | The Lake County coroner's office has ruled the death of a 12-year-old Gary boy, missing for two days, to be a suicide.

Coroner David Pastrick said Thursday Michael Maxey Jr. of the 6000 block of 36th Avenue died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Family reportedly told police the boy left home Monday afternoon and might be armed with a handgun he took from the home.

Police said officers found his body early Wednesday morning following a tip from a neighbor who saw the boy in a field near the Colfax Mobile Home Park -- where the family lived.

He was a sixth-grade student at the Hammond Baptist High and Junior High School.

It's probably not the first time the kid has drank a beer....and dad is in jail...do you think he learned about stealing from dear old dad?

Kids learn from their parents. When they grow up in dysfunctional homes, they think that is normal.

And so they repeat the behaviors they learned...

Good to see you again, booklady!

Police are asking for help...

you really think the people in THIS neighborhood will snitch?