Illinois man charged in drunken Merrillville crash

An Illinois man faces charges in a drunken crash on Taft Street in Merrillville in January.

Dejohnn Murray, 28, of Sauk Village, Ill., was charged Nov. 19 with two counts each of causing serious bodily injury when operating a vehicle with an ACE of .08% or more, a Level 5 felony, and causing serious bodily injury when operating a vehicle while intoxicated. He was also charged with five misdemeanors.

Murray has not been jailed in the case. He is ordered held on a $5,000 cash surety bond.

Merrillville Police responded around 10:52 p.m. Jan. 23 to the 8400 block of Taft Street.

A crowd was around a 2007 Ford Mustang, which had a smashed front end, turned southeast in the north lanes. A flipped Land Rover with an Illinois license plate was northeast in the south lanes.

The Mustang’s driver was extracted with a severely injured leg and transported to Franciscan Health Crown Point. He was placed in critical condition, but the injuries were not life-threatening, doctors later said.

Murray told a cop it was foggy outside when the crash happened. A woman was also in his car.

An officer smelled alcohol. He asked Murray if he had been drinking.

“Yes, but just a little,” he responded.

Murray refused field sobriety tests.

After cops got a search warrant, he was taken to Methodist Southlake for a blood draw that came back .126 g/100 mL.

The Mustang’s driver later told cops he drove north with his brother on Taft when he saw the other car in southbound lanes head toward him. He tried to swerve, but the other man followed, ending in a head-on crash. He estimated he was heading 45-50 mph. Visibility that night was 5-10 feet, he said.

The woman with Murray said they were headed to Sharks Chicken from Up Your Alley in Schererville. She woke up when the crash happened. She was not hurt. The investigator noted Sharks was further east on U.S. 30, while the crash site was not on the way.

mcolias@post-trib.com