A Hammond woman faces charges for a drunken injury crash on 5th Avenue in Gary last April that hurt at least three others, including a Gary cop.
Marina Rivera, 34, was charged with three felonies – causing serious bodily injury when operating a vehicle with an ACE of .08 or more, causing serious bodily injury when operating a vehicle while intoxicated, and driving while suspended; she also faces several misdemeanors.
She has not been apprehended. When she is arrested, she is ordered to be held on a $100,000, or $10,000 cash surety bond.
Gary Police responded at 9:43 a.m. on April 3 to the 4100 block of W. 5th Avenue in Gary for a multi-vehicle crash.
Investigators concluded Rivera, in a white GMC Arcadia, was headed east on 5th Avenue when she hopped the center curb median and hit a Gary Police pickup truck head-on, pushing it into the black Subaru Forester behind it.
A woman driving a silver Honda CRV said she was also forced to break but ended up hitting part of the police truck and a Freightliner nearby.
Rivera and the police officer, the two most seriously hurt, were taken to the hospital.
The Subaru’s driver and her male passenger were also transported; she had back pain, while he was in pain and had knee scrapes, according to the affidavit.
Rivera said she was driving from her mother-in-law’s. She told cops she “merged” before hitting the police truck. After investigators smelled alcohol, they had to get a warrant for a blood draw when Rivera refused tests. Hospital staff later wrote she was severely intoxicated, records show.
The tests found alcohol and THC in her system. Her driver’s license was suspended starting in October 2022 after convictions for disregarding a traffic control device and driving while suspended, documents state.
The BMV eventually permanently suspended her license in January 2023 for a snowball of offenses, including “excessive points,” failing to show proof of insurance, not showing up for driver education classes, and not having insurance after accidents.
Rivera was transferred to the University of Chicago with injuries, including a dislocated and fractured hip.
The Gary cop was driving 45 mph and tried to break before Rivera hit the truck, documents show. The officer was later transferred to the University of Chicago for the injuries, including a traumatic brain injury, partial loss of vision and bruised heart.
The officer is still off duty, and may never be able to return to work, according to the affidavit filed Dec. 17.
mcolias@post-trib.com
