A Cedar Lake man is facing charges after he allegedly T-boned another car on U.S. 30 while drunk.
Ryan Ralph, 48, was charged Tuesday with causing serious bodily injury when operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a Level 5 felony.
He has not been apprehended and is ordered held on a $35,000, or $3,500 cash surety bond.
Police responded around 7 a.m. March 17 to the 500 block of Lincoln Highway (U.S. 30).
A witness told officers that the other driver – in a silver Chevrolet passenger car – was crossing the west lanes of U.S. 30 from Joliet Street. Ralph – in a black Volkswagen Atlas SUV – was speeding west on U.S. 30, blew a red light and crashed into him, court records state.
Ralph’s SUV was pinned against the driver’s side of the Chevrolet, which was pushed up on the U.S. 30 median. The other man had to be extracted from his car.
Ralph initially claimed he didn’t realize he blew the light. Later on, he admitted he did and was concerned about how the other man was doing.
At the scene, he told officers he should have “stayed” and “slept longer”.
They smelled alcohol and saw his bloodshot eyes, red face and noted he was swaying and couldn’t walk straight.
A field breathalyzer registered .153 – or nearly twice the legal limit. Officers noted Ralph hit his head in the crash, which could have affected the results.
The other driver was taken to a hospital, then transferred to Chicago in critical condition.
He needed blood transfusions and had a shattered pelvis, shattered shoulder blade, and injured knee.
Officers found open cans and bottles in Ralph’s SUV. There was a Crown Royal bottle, High Noon seltzer cans in the front passenger seat, and a cooler in the back seat, the affidavit states.
mcolias@post-trib.com