A Hammond man has been charged with reckless homicide in the death early Tuesday of a construction worker on the Borman Expressway in Lake Station, Ind.
Robert Shannon, 35, was driving a Mercury Cougar when he struck Christopher D. Jenkins, 45, of Valparaiso, as he was patching potholes in the middle lane of a marked construction zone, according to authorities.
Shannon, who allegedly ran from the scene, has also been charged with failure to stop at an accident involving death, according to the Lake County prosecutor's office. He has been held in the county jail since he was located about 21 hours after the crash on Interstate Highway 80.
The accident occurred around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday. Police say Shannon's car hit Jenkins with such force that Jenkins crashed through the windshield and landed on Shannon. Another worker tried to stop the driver but he ran away.
Shannon is being held on $60,000 bail after appearing in court this morning, said Diane Poulton, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office. Shannon must post 10 percent to be released.
Friends of Jenkins described him as an easy-going, kind-hearted father of two who loved to make salsa from his backyard garden and share with the neighborhood.
The crash happened in what a state police affidavit describes as a well-marked construction zone that included caution barrels on the westbound part of I-80 where the crash happened.
Jenkins and a co-worker were both using shovels to scoop out asphalt patching for potholes from the back of a truck that was in the center lane of the three-lane highway, with Shannon at the far left of the truck. A 1993 tan Mercury Cougar registered to Shannon approached at high speed, according to the affidavit, and hit Jenkins as he leaned into the left lane to patch a pothole, the co-worker told investigators.
A witness who was driving another construction truck behind the asphalt truck said he saw no brake lights from Shannon's car until after the crash, according to the affidavit.
The impact sent Jenkins' body through the windshield, into the car's front seat, according to the affidavit.
The co-worker chased down the car, and when he came to the driver's door, he heard the driver say "in slurred speech, 'My life is over,'" according to the affidavit, filed by Indiana State Police Detective Dave Andrews.
Shannon then grabbed a black bag and got out of his car, which apparently still was in gear and started moving forward, the coworker told investigators. The co-worker jumped into the car and hit the brake to stop it, as Shannon started to walk away, according to the affidavit.
Shannon then went over one barrier wall, tripped over a wire, got up again, and after going over a second barrier and crossing eastbound lanes of traffic, escaped through a missing panel in a sound barrier lining the highway, according to the affidavit.
About 21 hours after the crash, Shannon was found by police in an alley in Lake Station a few miles from the crash site after he made a phone call to his girlfriend from a pay phone. Shannon told police he had spent the night in an abandoned trailer until dusk, when he went out to call his girlfriend.
When arrested, police said, he matched the description of the driver supplied by Jenkins' co-worker, and had injuries consistent with being involved in the crash.
Shannon admitted to investigators he was the driver who hit Jenkins and that he had been drinking before the crash, according to the affidavit.
Shannon's next court date is set for March 22, with another hearing set for May 10, Poulton said.
-- Duaa Eldeib, Liam Ford, staff