Laporte County

A 50-year-old woman died after her car struck a tree in a one-car accident in LaPorte County on Friday afternoon, according to a LaPorte County dispatcher. The driver was northbound on Highway 35 just south of US 20 when the accident happened. The dispatcher said the call came in at 3:31 p.m. It is not known what caused the accident, but police say there was heavy rain at the time of the crash. The woman's name has not been released, pending notification of next-of-kin.

LAPORTE COUNTY ‒ She may have been cleared of criminal charges, but a local judge won't return to the bench anytime soon. A jury found Jennifer Evans Koethe not guilty of obstruction of justice late Tuesday night. Prosecutors had claimed she asked a police officer to get rid of evidence after she accidentally shot herself at her home in December of 2008. When those allegations surfaced, the state suspended Koethe from serving as a judge for alleged judicial misconduct. She will appeal that before the Indiana Judicial Qualification Commission next Monday.

LAPORTE - The Oscars are three weeks away, and a LaPorte man knows what it's like to grace the red carpet. Director John Hancock was nominated for an Academy Award back in 1970. He's directed several films since then including the Christmas movie "Prancer," and now he's working on another project that will involve the entire community of LaPorte. More than 300 people from as far away as Ohio have come to the LaPorte County Public Library, not to check out books, but for a shot at fame.

Prime Rib... baked potato...they're not foods you would typically see on a school lunch menu, but that's exactly what some lucky Rolling Prairie Elementary students feasted on Thursday. Not at school - at a local restaurant. It's all part of a program that teaches manners and basic dining skills. There are some lessons you have to go beyond the classroom to teach. "We hope it inspires them to try new things and have experiences that they've not had before," said Melissa Kuczmanski, who teaches "Manners and Basics of Dining" at the school.

MICHIGAN CITY - A cat near Michigan City was found with a bone in its mouth. According to authorities, one other bone was located underneath a bush. La Porte County Coroner John Sullivan said the bones will be turned over to a forensic anthropoligist in Indianapolis for testing to determine if they are from a human or animal. "Most of this stuff turns out to be animal bones but you want to check them just in case," said Sullivan. The bones were discovered in Pottawatamie Park, an upscale neighborhood next to Michigan City.

The massive fireworks show in LaPorte County led to two reports of damage. A family that lives on Orchard Avenue near the fairgrounds reported several windows broken from the fireworks, and a stone falling out of the façade of the house. Another person also reported a broken window in their home. The show from the Pyrotechnics Guild International appears to be a success. The LaPorte County Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates 15,000 people attended Friday night's grand finale.

LAPORTE COUNTY - A LaPorte County police officer accused of drunk driving pleads guilty to reckless driving. Anthony Wallace, 45, was stopped by police on November 27. They say he had a .13 blood alcohol level. Wallace told police he had three beers. La Porte County Sheriff Mike Mollenhauer told a newspaper that Wallace was suspended without pay after his arrest and demoted from captain to sergeant. He will spend six months on probation.

LAPORTE COUNTY - LaPorte County police say a man that was hit and killed while riding a bike had alcohol and drugs in his system. The coroner says 18-year-old Brandon Biege had a blood alcohol content of .234 and had marijuana and benzodiazepines in his system. Benzodiazepines can be anything from anti-depressants to painkillers. Biege was hit late Friday night while riding his bike backwards down State Road 4 in LaPorte. Several people told police they saw him riding backwards and tried to stop him.

LAPORTE COUNTY - Two LaPorte County police officers were involved in a car accident on Friday morning on U.S. 6 near 125 east. According to police, they were rear-ended. The field-training officer was injured and went to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Police believe he will be OK. The other officer was not hurt. Stay with WSBT.com for any updates that become available.  

KINGSFORD HEIGHTS - A 20-year-old Hamlet, Indiana woman was killed this morning in a crash near Kingsford Heights. The LaPorte County coroner says her blood alcohol content - .283 - and the dense fog are equally to blame. The single-vehicle crash happened around 1:12 a.m. Central Time at the intersection of Range Road and 800 South, just north of Kingsford Heights. LaPorte County Coroner John Sullivan said Amanda Lovins' Ford Explorer left the roadway and crashed into a cement drainage culvert.

UPDATE: The two killed in a crash Saturday morning have been identified as 39-year-old Shay Hedden and 7-year-old Matthew Hedden, both from Michigan City. The following release was issued Saturday afternoon by LaPorte County police: On Saturday, April 6th, 2013 at approximately 11:36 am, Deputies from the LaPorte County Sheriff's Office were summoned to the scene of a single (1) vehicle crash in the area of 5141 North C.R. 600 West, in Springfield Township.  Upon the arrival of medical personnel, it was discovered that a female and a young juvenile male inside the vehicle were deceased.     Once deputies arrived at the scene, they discovered a single vehicle crash involving a tree.  The scene of the crash was located near 5121 North C.R. 600 West.  Observations and a witness statement at the scene revealed the vehicle, a Tan 1993 Toyota, was traveling south on C.R. 600 West.  The vehicle passed the witness vehicle in a no passing zone.  While attempting the passing maneuver, the vehicle lost control while in the northbound lane of C.R. 600 West.  The vehicle crossed back into the southbound lane of C.R. 600 West, left the west side of the roadway, and struck a tree.

LAPORTE COUNTY - A North Liberty man faces charges in an accident that led to his brother's death over the weekend. The LaPorte County prosecutor has charged 22-year-old Ryan Flotow with operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing death. That's a felony. Police say he was driving when he crashed on 875 East near 100 North in Wills Township early Sunday morning. 21-year-old Kyle Flotow died in the crash. Police say the car hit several trees. Police say Ryan admitted to them and witnesses on the scene that he had been drinking.

MILL CREEK, Ind. - A one-car crash in LaPorte County has claimed the life of a 21-year-old man, and police say alcohol was involved. Police say it happened shortly after 3:30 (CST) Sunday morning on North C.R. 875 East in the Mill Creek area of Wills Township. CLICK HERE for map. County police say Kyle Flotow from New Carlisle, a passenger in the car, died on the scene. Kyle's 22-year-old brother, Ryan Flotow, was driving the car when the vehicle went off the road and hit a tree.

Back in 1981, when Juanta Boyd was killed, the technology to test DNA didn't exist. It does now and police in LaPorte County hope to get results in Boyd's murder case back soon. This has breathed new life into the cold case mystery of a single mother murdered in the middle of nowhere. "It hurts my heart more than it does anything," says Kevin Boyd. Kevin has grown up. He was just 9 years old when he found out his mother had been murdered. That was 32 years ago. "I just felt like my whole world exploded," says Kevin.

Police say a man on the LaPorte County top ten most wanted list for being a “sexually violent predator” was arrested in Birmingham, Alabama. The LaPorte County Sheriff's Department was notified by the U.S. Marshals Service on Tuesday that Maurice Ward was found and arrested in Birmingham without incident. It is unknown if Ward will face charges in Birmingham. He is going to be extradited back to LaPorte to face charges for failing to register as a sex offender - a Class C felony - as well as parole violation.

Prime Rib... baked potato...they're not foods you would typically see on a school lunch menu, but that's exactly what some lucky Rolling Prairie Elementary students feasted on Thursday. Not at school - at a local restaurant. It's all part of a program that teaches manners and basic dining skills. There are some lessons you have to go beyond the classroom to teach. "We hope it inspires them to try new things and have experiences that they've not had before," said Melissa Kuczmanski, who teaches "Manners and Basics of Dining" at the school.

LAPORTE COUNTY - 8 miles of footprints in fresh snow. That's how police found a man accused of escaping from work release in LaPorte County. Investigators say Kenneth Bunn didn't report back to the LaPorte County Work Release Center Saturday night. Early Sunday morning, officers were called to County Road North 150 East near Rolling Prairie on a report Bunn might be hiding inside a home. Police say footprints in the snow from the house were tracked across a field and into a wooded area, then along U.S. 20 to Indiana 39 into LaPorte.

Some of us have received more snow this weekend than others. Some areas have seen whiteout conditions. New Carlisle was among the places that did Sunday morning, along with parts of southwest Michigan over the last 24 hours. Driving has been slick in places and may still be, depending on where you are. WSBT meteorologist Matt Rudkin says these were the official snowfall totals from Saturday morning through late Sunday morning, numbers released by the National Weather Service and Emergency Management Agency: Hudson Lake (LaPorte County)

LAPORTE - What was billed as a record bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich built in La Porte over the weekend is now being disputed by a group laying official claim to the longest BLT. The World Record Academy said the 364 foot two inches long sandwich from Brad Hindsley does not qualify for its official record BLT measuring 224 feet three inches long. In an e-mail, Tom Howard of the WRA said Hindsley cannot break the WRA record for the Longest BLT simply because he didn't have "our written, prior approval for this attempt.