A Hammond woman is facing multiple charges after leading state troopers on a pursuit on the Indiana Toll Road early Wednesday, according to police.
Indiana State Police spokeswoman Sgt. Ann Wojas said in a release that around 3:28 a.m., a trooper saw an SUV with only its side marker lights parked in the Toll Road’s eastbound travel lane a mile from the Indiana/Illinois border.
When the trooper approached the vehicle, a Hispanic woman exited the front passenger side, then hurled a beer can at the driver while swearing, Wojas said.
Wojas said the trooper got out of his vehicle and asked the woman to come talk to him about what was going on. The woman said she and the driver had been physically fighting with each other when they approached the toll booth and the driver was allegedly too drunk to pay the toll, the release said.
When a second trooper arrived at the traffic stop, the first trooper approached the car and saw a Hispanic woman, identified as Jacqueline A. Castillo, 32, of Hammond, in the driver’s seat. Wojas said.
Wojas said Castillo told the trooper she had no identification on her person, then proceeded to swear at him before driving off in the SUV.
Wojas said the SUV continued erratically speeding eastbound toward the Calumet Avenue exit before heading southbound on Calumet from 131st Street to the 3300 block of Calumet, where she drove into a gas station and crashed into a pole behind it.
Castillo then got out of the SUV and headed toward the trooper with her fists up, Wojas said in the release. After ignoring his warnings, the trooper used a stun gun on Casillo, Wojas said.
Castillo was taken to Franciscan Health Hammond, where her blood alcohol content tested at .27 percent, or three times Indiana’s legal limit of .08 percent, Wojas said. Wojas said Castillo was put in restraints after she attacked a nurse.
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According to the release, Castillo has been charged with Resisting Law Enforcement with a Vehicle, a Level 6 felony; Resisting Law Enforcement, Class A misdemeanor; Battery, Class A misdemeanor; Operating While Intoxicated, Class A misdemeanor; Reckless Driving, Class B misdemeanor; Failure to Identify, Class C misdemeanor; Obstructing Traffic, Class C misdemeanor; Operating a Vehicle without ever being Licensed, Class C misdemeanor; Open Container, Class C misdemeanor; Improper Headlights, Infraction; and Disregarding Traffic Control Device, Infraction.
The passenger was released at the scene, according to Wojas.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.