Man charged with OWI for crash that killed NW Indiana couple

A man has been charged with drunken driving and reckless homicide for causing a crash that killed a northwest Indiana couple earlier this month in a rural area of LaPorte County.

On Tuesday afternoon, LaPorte County sheriff’s deputies took 40-year-old Tron Gorbonosenko into custody after a warrant was issued for his arrest following the fatal crash on Oct. 6, according to the sheriff’s office.

Don Kaczmarek, 47; and his wife, Angie Kaczmarek, 49, of Michigan City were killed in the crash on U.S. 20 at Bootjack Road near Rolling Prairie, according to the LaPorte County coroner’s office.

The crash happened about 7:40 p.m. when a 2006 Ford Mustang, driven by Gorbonosenko, was eastbound on U.S. 20 and collided with a westbound 2003 Honda Odyssey, according to the sheriff’s office. The Kaczmareks were in the van and both died at the scene.

Gorbonosenko, of New Carlisle, Indiana, was critically injured and was flown to South Bend Memorial Hospital, police said. He was released from the hospital a week after the crash.

Police initially said the Mustang crossed the center line and collided head-on with the Odyssey. Police on Wednesday said a crash reconstruction investigator determined the car was “believed to be traveling between 55 and 61 mph prior to impact.” Gorbonosenko’s blood alcohol level was .17 percent, more than double the legal limit of .08 percent.

Warrants were issued in La Porte County Superior Court on Tuesday morning, charging Gorbonosenko with two counts of operating while intoxicated above .15 percent causing death; and two counts of reckless homicide, police said. He was ordered held on a $25,000 bond and remains in the LaPorte County Jail, police said. His initial hearing is scheduled for Oct. 24 in LaPorte.

U.S. 20 was closed for about three hours after the crash.