LaPorte City Police Department officers were called to an accident in the early morning hours Thursday after a woman hit a pedestrian sitting on a bench.
32-year-old Tonya Wollum, of LaPorte County, was driving on Michigan Avenue when she jumped the curb and struck 35-year-old Ameer Henderson who was sitting on a bench outside 615 Michigan Avenue. Wollum then continued north up the sidewalk for about 75 yards until the vehicle came to rest at 605 Michigan Avenue.
Ameer Henderson suffered a fractured right leg and was treated at the hospital. She hired a personal injury lawyer for guidance on the case.
Wollum attempted to flee the scene on foot but she was quickly apprehended. In the crash, she had damaged four different buildings, a trash can and a lamp post. She was given a breathalizer test which registered .15%. Wollum was arrested and charged with Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated Causing Serious Bodily Injury and Failure to Stop at an Accident with a Serious Bodily Injury, both Class D Felonies.
Captain Tom Heath with the LaPorte Police Department said that Wollum was so impaired that she either did not realize that she was driving on the sidewalk or she realized that she was but either didn’t care or was not able to figure out how to rectify the problem. Heath added that this is the reason why the LaPorte Police Department puts a lot of effort into impaired driving enforcement.
