A Cedar Lake man faces felony charges after he drove into a live utility pole while under the influence of alcohol, then briefly ran off, leaving a passenger who was sent to the hospital.
Joseph Kersey, 40, was charged Monday with leaving the scene of an accident, causing serious bodily injury when operating a vehicle while intoxicated, and three misdemeanors.
He posted a $5,000 cash bond Tuesday.
Cedar Lake Police responded at 2:42 p.m. Dec. 7 to the 7300 block of W. 126th Avenue for a reported crash.
Officers found a red Ford F-150 with its front end smashed. Live power lines were over and under the truck.
A crowd yelled and pointed officers toward the nearby abandoned Salesian Prep School where Kersey ran. He wore a Carhartt jacket and pants.
A witness pointed to a man by the pole barn. The man said he was driving north on Knight Street to the 126th Avenue intersection, when Kersey — who driving west in eastbound lanes — swerved to miss him and crashed into a pole.
The other driver got out and yelled as Kersey ran to the woods that the cops would bring a K-9. Kersey stopped and walked with the man to the road where they met the cops.
Officers saw Kersey was bleeding from his ear, forehead and hand. Kersey said he hasn’t been in a crash and admitted drinking a “couple beers,” documents show.
When cops told him he needed to go to the hospital and charges would likely be filed, he got “argumentative” and refused sobriety tests, the affidavit states.
Handcuffed in a squad car, Kersey tried to headbutt a window to escape.
After cops called NIPSCO, a different witness said he saw someone still in the truck. The officer called for a “hot stick” to test what wires were live.
The passenger was “seriously injured” and “in-and-out of consciousness.” The man was “hostile” to paramedics before cops managed to calm him down so he could be transported.
