Hammond police are looking for the public’s assistance in identifying three men involved in a Friday morning car crash that left one of the men dead.
Police said another of the men was removed from the scene by the third man without being identified first.
A 2015 Jeep Cherokee containing two of the men was traveling east on the 1100 block of May Street around 4:30 a.m. when it crossed onto Columbia Avenue, hit a tree and crashed through a chain-link fence near an apartment building in the 5800 block of Columbia, Hammond Fire Chief Jeff Smith said. The car then burst into flames.
Residents heard the accident, and a neighbor was able to help the driver out of the burning vehicle, Smith said. The passenger, however, died at the scene.
A witness said an unidentified man came to the scene after the crash, threw who was believed to be the driver over his shoulder and carried him away, according to Lt. Rich Hoyda, public information officer for the Hammond police. None of the men have been identified officially, Hoyda said.
Other than several trees and bushes that caught fire from the burning Jeep, there was no other structural damage in the area, Smith said.
Anyone with information can call the Hammond police at 219-853-6490.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.