Multiple Vehicle Crash Results in Fatality on I-94

(LAKE CO.) – On Wednesday at 7 p.m. the Lowell Regional Dispatch Center received 911 calls reporting a multi-vehicle crash on I-94 in the eastbound lane at the 16.1 mile-marker. 

Responding Indiana State Police troopers located a semi-tractor-trailer and two-passenger vehicles along the inside median wall. 

One passenger car was underneath the front of the semi and pinned against the median barrier. 

According to troopers, a gray 2011 Toyota Prius had driven through snow that was in-between the ramp from the Indiana Toll Road and I-94. This action resulted in the driver losing control of the Prius and spinning into the path of a semi. 

The semi, a yellow 2016 Freightliner operated by Martin Transportation System located in Byron Center, MI, struck the Prius on the driver’s side. 

After striking the Prius, the trailer of the semi then sideswiped a 2020 Chrysler van. 

All the vehicles then came to stop against the median wall. 

The driver of the Prius, 81-year-old John P. Miller, of Portage, IN, was declared deceased at the scene by the Lake County Coroner’s Office. 

The drivers of the semi and van sustained minor injuries. 

Assisting at the scene were the following:  WAFFCO Towing, INDOT, Lake Station Fire/EMS, and the Indiana State Police Reconstruction Team (M/Trp. McFarrin and Trp. Arnold).