Matteson woman thrown from car in rollover on I-65 in Merrillville

A Matteson woman was ejected from a car during a rollover crash Thursday afternoon on Interstate 65 in Merrillville, Indiana.

A 2000 Dodge Neon was northbound just before 4 p.m. on I-65 about a mile north of the 61st Avenue exit when the driver tried to move left to pass another car, according to the Indiana State Police, which said the driver had to hit the brakes to avoid crashing into a car in the left lane, causing him to lose control.

The Neon went off the highway to the right, across a ditch and into a wooded area, rolling three times, police said. A 33-year-old Matteson woman riding in the back, who wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, was thrown from the car.

She and the driver, 31-year-old Thomas E. Holliday of Gary, Indiana, were both taken to Methodist Northlake Hospital in Gary with injuries that were not thought to be life-threatening, police said. Another passenger, a 17-year-old girl from Fort Wayne, Indiana, wasn’t hurt.

Investigators found marijuana in the car, and Holliday was charged with possession of marijuana and driving with expired license plates, police said.