CROWN POINT, Ind. — Investigators believe that a Lake County police officer who survived a car crash was behind the wheel, not a fellow officer who died in the crash, the sheriff said.
Officer John Kitchen told police who responded to the crash that Officer Eric Forster was driving when the crash occurred about 5 a.m. Feb. 24. The car flipped over and landed in a ditch on a hilly two-lane road in a rural area about 15 miles south of Gary.
Forster, 29, was pronounced dead at the scene and Kitchen, 37, was treated for minor injuries. Forster and Kitchen were off duty at the time and were not in a county vehicle.
Evidence gathered by crash investigators from the sheriff’s department and state police puts Kitchen in the driver’s seat, Sheriff Roy Dominguez said Thursday.
“When Kitchen said that his best friend, his little brother, was driving, there was no reason to suspect otherwise,” Dominguez said. “Based on checking and double-checking the evidence, they determined that Kitchen was the driver.”
Kitchen’s attorney, Sam Cappas, said the police investigation was flawed and that Kitchen was not intoxicated.
“His recollection is that he was not (driving),” Cappas said. “He lost his best friend in the accident.”
No other officers appeared to be involved in the deception, Dominguez said. Kitchen has been placed on administrative leave with pay.
Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter said he was awaiting a final report before deciding whether to bring criminal charges.
A blood toxicology test for Forster was positive for alcohol, county Coroner David Pastrick said. Kitchen was not given a breath test at the scene.
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