A Lake County (Ind.) sheriff’s lieutenant was charged with drunken driving and leaving the scene of a crash after he struck a man and a minivan Sunday afternoon and drove away.
Guy Mikulich, 37, had just been released from his assignment at the Gary Air Show and, still in uniform, was driving his unmarked 2011 Ford Crown Victoria west on Oak Avenue in the town of Miller when the crash happened around 4:45 p.m., according to a statement from Indiana State Police.
Mikulich, a 16-year veteran with the sheriff’s department, struck a 2014 Toyota Sienna van parked on Oak near Pike Street and a 34-year-old man from Frankfort, Ill. who was standing at the back of his car to put something in his trunk, according to preliminary investigation.
The Frankfort man had been watching the air show with his family before returning to his car, state police said.
Mikulich drove away but a Gary police officer stopped him about a mile and a half away in the 5900 block of Hemlock Avenue, the statement from state police said. His Crown Victoria had damage consistent with the accident, it said
The Frankfort man was taken to Methodist Hospital Northlake with serious injuries.
Mikulich was taken to the same hospital, where his blood-alcohol content tested at 0.15, according to the statement.
Mikulich was then taken to Lake County Jail, where he was charged with felony counts of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and causing bodily injury and leaving the scene of a personal injury crash, according to the statement.
Mikulich was placed on paid administrative leave, state police said.