All lanes of US 35 in rural La Porte County have reopened after a vehicle struck a pedestrian, leaving that person with serious bodily injury and prompting a full closure that stretched between Stonehedge Way and County Road 400 West for much of Tuesday morning. Deputies were called to investigate the crash in the 4000 block of US 35 North, in Center Township, and warned drivers to steer clear of the stretch while the scene was cleared.
According to a La Porte County Sheriff's Office update posted at 10:55 a.m., the road has since reopened, though the sheriff's office has not released the condition or identity of the pedestrian, and it remains unclear whether the driver stayed at the scene or what role speed or visibility may have played. Those details, along with whether any citations or charges will follow, have not yet been made public.
A Stretch of Highway With a Troubled History
This is not the first serious wreck along this exact corridor of US 35. Just under six months earlier, on March 13, a 50-year-old La Porte man died when his SUV veered off the shoulder and went airborne just north of Stonehedge Way, according to WTHR. Four passengers, including three juveniles, were hospitalized in that crash.
During that same investigation, a pickup truck driver drove around police barricades and past three sheriff's vehicles to get to work, the station reported. He was cited for disregarding a traffic control device and passing in a no-passing zone, telling authorities he was trying to avoid being late.
Farther up the same road, at US 35 and County Road 400 North, a 35-year-old driver crossed the double yellow line and struck multiple trees and a utility pole in a November 2021 crash, according to WIMS Radio. That driver, the sole occupant of the vehicle, was pronounced dead at the scene.
A Regional Corridor Under Strain
US 35 functions as a major regional route linking La Porte to US 20 and Michigan City, which keeps high-speed vehicle traffic flowing through stretches that lack dedicated pedestrian infrastructure. Earlier this year, the Indiana Department of Transportation and utility crews also imposed temporary closures and detours along US 35 between County Road 400 West and Schultz Road for structure replacement and gas line work, routing traffic onto State Road 39 and US 20, according to INDOT.
The dangers on this corridor reflect a broader pattern across La Porte County. The county logged 3,342 total motor vehicle collisions and 22 traffic fatalities in 2022, according to county profile data compiled by the Indiana University Public Policy Institute for the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, down from 3,616 collisions the year before. Statewide, pedestrian deaths made up roughly 12 percent of all traffic fatalities in recent multi-year analyses, with Indiana pedestrian deaths falling from 133 in 2021 to 111 in 2022, per the same state safety data.
What Indiana Law Requires After a Serious Injury Crash
Indiana law places strict obligations on drivers involved in crashes causing injury. Under Indiana Code § 9-26-1-1.1, a driver who fails to remain at the scene of a crash resulting in moderate or serious bodily injury commits a Level 6 felony, punishable by six months to 2.5 years in prison and fines up to $10,000, according to FindLaw. Drivers involved in such crashes are required to stop immediately, render reasonable assistance, and report the incident.
The La Porte County Sheriff's Office has also routinely taken part in grant-funded overtime enforcement campaigns through the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, targeting aggressive driving, speeding, and impaired motorists on high-risk county roads, according to WKVI. That funding comes through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
This crash marks the latest in a string of serious roadway incidents the sheriff's office has investigated this year. In March, a 21-year-old driver was charged with operating while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury after a head-on crash on State Road 2 that required an injured driver to be airlifted, as Hoodline previously reported. In June, a fatal late-night crash on Main Street in Wanatah left one person dead as investigators examined whether alcohol was a factor. No charges or citations have been announced in connection with Tuesday's pedestrian crash, and key questions about how it happened remain unanswered.
