LAKE COUNTY – On Sunday, May 17, 2026, at approximately 4:27 a.m. CST, Trooper Jovanovic was dispatched to a report of a wrong-way driver traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes of the Indiana Toll Road near the 21-mile marker in Lake County. This location is approximately a mile west of the Toll Road Travel Plaza.
While responding, Trooper Jovanovic was notified that a head‑on collision involving two vehicles had just occurred at the 13.8-mile marker, near the Grant Street exit. Dispatch further advised that one of the vehicles involved was fully engulfed in flames.
Upon arrival at the scene, Trooper Jovanovic located a red sedan that was fully engulfed in fire and a dark‑colored Cadillac sedan with extensive front‑end damage and deployed airbags. Trooper Jovanovic detected the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from the Cadillac. He then located the male and female drivers of the vehicles.
The male, identified as 27‑year‑old Gabriel Becerril Velasco of Elkhart, Indiana, stated he was the driver of the red Chevrolet Impala and had been traveling in the correct direction when the wrong‑way Cadillac struck his vehicle head‑on.
Trooper Jovanovic then spoke with the female, identified as 44‑year‑old Jennifer Lynn Wallace, from South Bend, Indiana. While speaking with Wallace, he detected the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from her person. Wallace agreed to undergo field sobriety testing.
Wallace exhibited multiple indicators of impairment during standardized field sobriety testing. Wallace declined to provide a portable breath test. She was subsequently taken into custody, during which she became verbally combative.
After being read Indiana’s Implied Consent advisement, Wallace refused a certified chemical test. Trooper Jovanovic transported Wallace to Methodist Southlake Hospital in Merrillville, where a search warrant for a blood draw was authorized by a Lake County Judge. After executing the blood draw warrant, Wallace was later transported to the Lake County Jail and turned over to jail staff.
The following charges have been submitted to the Lake County Prosecutor for review against Wallace: operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangerment, operating a vehicle while intoxicated, reckless driving, criminal recklessness, obstruction of traffic.
Velasco was transported to a local hospital for evaluation of minor injuries. He was treated and released the same day. His vehicle was destroyed as a result of the collision and subsequent fire.
The Indiana State Police remind motorists to remain alert, never drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and report dangerous or erratic driving behavior immediately by calling 911.
Those facing criminal charges are considered innocent until proven guilty through a fair and due legal process. Accusations alone do not imply guilt; the judicial system will evaluate the presented evidence to reach a verdict.
