55-year-old woman killed in Hammond DUI crash

Drunk driving is believed to the cause a two-vehicle crash that left a woman dead over the weekend in northwest Indiana.

Around 11:30 p.m. Saturday, police responded to a crash in the 3300 block of Michigan Street in Hammond, according to Hammond police.

Denver Brown was traveling east when his vehicle crossed the center lane and struck a vehicle heading west, police said.

Maria C. Gonzalez, the driver of the other vehicle, was pronounced dead at the scene at 12:45 a.m. Sunday, according to the Lake County coroner’s office. Two girls and a 19-year-old woman were also in the car, and were in stable condition at a hospital.

Gonzalez, 55, who lived in East Chicago, suffered blunt force trauma from the crash and her death was ruled an accident, the coroner’s office said.

Brown, 69, of South Bend, Indiana, suffered only minor injuries. He was arrested and charged Monday with one count of operating while intoxicated causing death, and three counts of operating while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury.