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Ky’Air Lucus

Age : 1

Gender : Male

Race : Black

Date : 01/07/2022

Location : Interstate 80/94 westbound near mile marker 5.7 / Colfax Street

City : Gary

County : Lake

State : Indiana

Agency : Lake County SO

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Bystander killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

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REASON FOR CHASE: Passenger killed during pursuit initiated after Lake County sheriff's deputies attempted to stop the Audi in which he was riding for speeding and running a red light near 25th Avenue and Broadway in Gary.
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NARRATIVE:
On 01/07/2022, one-year-old Ky'Air Lucus of Matteson, Illinois, was killed during a Lake County Sheriff's Department pursuit in Gary. Ky'Air was riding in a child safety seat in the rear passenger area of a black 2010 Audi A5. Twenty-year-old passenger Britney Griffin was also killed. The Lake County Coroner's Office subsequently identified both victims.
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At approximately 11:30 a.m., Lake County sheriff's deputies attempted to stop the Audi after police said its driver, 21-year-old Eric White, was speeding and ran a red light near 25th Avenue and Broadway. White accelerated and traveled south toward Broadway and Interstate 80/94.
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Police said the Audi continued at high speed until deputies lost sight of it. The vehicle subsequently traveled onto Interstate 80/94, where White was reported weaving through traffic. Near Colfax Street, the Audi rear-ended a semi-trailer.
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According to the Indiana State Police crash reconstruction investigation, the impact sent the Audi spinning across the interstate into the median wall. The Audi then traveled back across the traffic lanes in front of the same semi and was struck on its passenger side. It came to rest wedged beneath the semi's front bumper.
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Ky'Air suffered fatal injuries while in his car seat. Griffin was ejected from the Audi and also suffered fatal injuries. Both were pronounced dead at the scene by the Lake County Coroner's Office.
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White survived with head injuries and was hospitalized. Police said a handgun was found and alleged that White possessed it illegally. After his release from the hospital, he was taken to the Lake County Jail. Authorities also disclosed that Lake County officers had arrested White following another vehicle pursuit in November 2021.
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The Indiana State Police Lowell Crash Reconstruction Unit investigated the collision at the request of Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. The Lake County Sheriff's Department handled the criminal investigation associated with the pursuit.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://abc7chicago.com/gary-crash-today-i-80-police-chase/11438441/
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/i-80-94-northwest-indiana-crash/
https://abc7chicago.com/gary-crash-i80-police-chase-britni-griffin/11442266/
https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/infant-woman-killed-in-northwest-indiana-after-driver-fled-from-police-in-vehicle-and-crashed
https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/woman-and-toddler-who-were-killed-in-crash-allegedly-caused-by-man-fleeing-police-are-identified
https://www.spotlightonlake.com/posts/indiana-state-police-investigating-fatal-crash-i-80
https://regionnewssource.org/women-infant-dead-after-police-chase-on-80-94/