3 killed in crash after car flees traffic stop in Gary

Three people were killed in a crash after a car sped away from a traffic stop Friday in Gary, Indiana.

Investigators were dispatched to the scene of the crash at 2:52 a.m. on Grant Street at the I-80/94 ramp, according to the Lake County coroner’s office.

Shortly before the crash, Lake County sheriff’s police had pulled the car over near Ridge Road and Grant Street, the sheriff’s office said. While officers were talking to the occupants, the car took off at a high speed.

The officers followed the car on Grant but lost sight of it at the I-80/94 overpass, authorities said. When the reached the overpass, they saw that the car had hit a semitrailer on an expressway ramp.

Two men in the car, ages 18 and 19, were dead at the scene, according to the sheriff’s and coroner’s offices. The older man lived in Gary while the younger lived in Hobart, Indiana.

The third person, a male, was taken to Methodist Hospital Northlake Campus in Gary, where he was pronounced dead, the sheriff’s and coroner’s office said.

The driver of the semi refused medical treatment, according to the sheriff’s office. The crash remains under investigation.