A Merrillville man is in custody after police said he was driving while intoxicated and struck and killed a Union Township resident who was getting his mail from a roadside mailbox late Tuesday afternoon.
James M. Brown, 83, died at the scene, according to the Porter County Sheriff’s Department.
The driver, 43, who is not being named by the Post-Tribune because he has not been formally charged, told police he had consumed two beers in the hours before the crash, according to the report. While being processed into the Porter County Jail, the man told police he had recently taken Vicodin, which he didn’t have a prescription for.
A toxicology screen at Northwest Health — Porter showed a presumptive positive for opiates and marijuana, according to police. Additionally, the driver’s blood-alcohol content was .058%, which is under the state’s legal limit of .08%.
Deputies with the Porter County Sheriff’s Department were called around 5:51 p.m. May 28 to County Road 600 West 80 North for a report of a vehicle striking a pedestrian, according to a report.
Police, noting a thunderstorm was producing heavy rain in the area, found Brown in the grass and mail lying on the ground nearby, about 30 feet south of his residence. Police said the driver was in a 2007 Dodge Nitro in Brown’s driveway.
Police also noticed an all-terrain vehicle in the driveway; Brown’s wife told police he had left the house in the ATV to get the mail.
The driver of the Dodge was “very distraught and crying,” according to the report, and told police he was driving from his construction job to a friend’s house in Lake Eliza and that the heavy rain reduced his visibility.
The driver told police he did not see Brown until his car was “in very close proximity” to him and the driver tried to swerve to avoid him but believed the front right of his car struck Brown.
The driver said he slammed on his brakes and did a U-turn on 600 West and tried to give Brown first aid before pulling into Brown’s driveway and calling 911.
The driver faces preliminary charges of a Level 4 felony count of operating while intoxicated with a controlled substance, and three misdemeanor counts related to operating while intoxicated.
