20-year-old woman and 1-year-old baby passengers dead after police chase repeat offender

GARY, Ind. — An Illinois woman and a child are dead tonight after the driver of a car they were riding in collided twice with a semitrailer on the Borman Expressway in Gary, Indiana, police said.

Approximately 11:30 a.m., the Lake County Sheriff's Department attempted to stop the driver of an Audi A5 traveling at a high rate of speed near Broadway and 25th Avenue in Gary, Indiana. The driver refused to stop, entered I-80/94, swerved in and out of traffic, and struck the rear end of a semi near Colfax Street.

The car then spun across all lanes and struck the median wall on the other side of the expressway. There, it collided a second time with the semitrailer and wedged under the front bumper before the truck driver was able to bring the vehicle to rest on the shoulder.

A 20-year-old woman from Matteson, Illinois, who was the driver's girlfriend, was ejected from the Audi involved in the midday crash and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. A 1-year-old baby who was riding in a car seat in the Audi was also pronounced dead.

The male driver, identified as Eric White, 21, was taken to an area hospital with minor head injuries. After his release, he was transported to the Lake County Jail, where charges were pending late Friday.

Authorities noted the driver had been previously arrested twice by Lake County Sheriff's deputies after police pursuits. His latest was for another pursuit in November of 2021.

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