LOGANSPORT, Ind. — A Logansport police officer and another driver were injured in a crash during a pursuit Sunday afternoon. This is the third officer to be injured in a crash this weekend.
(NOTE: The video in the player above is a March 2022 report on Indiana police pursuit policies.)
The pursuit started in the 1800 block of Meadlawn Avenue at around 1 p.m. Officers were called to the area on a report of "suspicious activity," Lt. Brad Miller of the Logansport Police Department said.
According to Miller, officers were in the area when a red GMC Yukon driven by 48-year-old John Marks, a Walton resident, pulled into the driveway of a home. When Marks saw police, he quickly backed out, Miller said, running over a large rock at the end of the driveway, and then speeding away on Meadlawn Avenue.
Officers chased Marks as he headed south on Meadlawn. During the chase, Marks lost control of his car, spinning and ending facing northbound.
Marks kept driving north, crossed the center line of the road and hit a Logansport officer's car nearly head-on, according to state police, who are leading the investigation into the crash.
Officer Leeann Morales, 35, was driving the patrol car. State police said she was driving east on Norcross Street and then turned south on Meadlawn Avenue when the two cars collided.
Morales was transported by ambulance to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Miller said she was later released from the hospital.
Marks was taken to Logansport Memorial Hospital and then flown in a helicopter to Eskenazi Hospital in Indianapolis for additional treatment. At the time of publishing, Miller said the police department didn't have information on exactly what condition Marks was in. State police said the same.
This is the third time this weekend that a local law enforcement officer has been injured in a crash. And, in all three crashes, the other drivers were also harmed.
Friday: Deputy, driver injured in Johnson County
The first crash happened late Friday night, when Johnson County Sheriff Duane Burgess said a driver failed to give a deputy the right of way and hit the deputy's marked car.
The deputy was driving a marked patrol car toward the Greenwood area, where the deputy intended to serve a civil order, at around 10 p.m.
The deputy was at the intersection of Worthsville and Collins roads when another driver turned into the path of the deputy and the two vehicles collided.
The deputy and the driver were both injured in the crash. However, Burgess didn't have information on the extent of their injuries.
Saturday: Trafalgar officer hurt, driver killed in crash during pursuit
Less than six hours later a pickup truck driver was killed and a Trafalgar Police officer was critically injured in a crash during a pursuit in Johnson County.
The officer, identified by the Trafalgar Police Department as Officer Dustin Moody, was sitting at the intersection of State Road 135 and County Road 300 South shortly before 3:30 a.m. when a pickup truck failed to stop at the intersection.
Moody followed the truck, turning on his emergency lights in an attempt to stop the truck.
The pursuit ended at a "T" intersection where the truck and Moody's SUV were unable to stop and both vehicles crashed into an embankment.
The truck driver was pronounced dead at the scene by medics.
Moody had to be cut out of his vehicle and was flown to Eskenazi Hospital in Indianapolis with back, hip, leg and internal injuries.
He was listed in serious but stable condition, the sheriff said Saturday. The Trafalgar Police Department shared an update Sunday that said Moody is now in critical condition and requires surgery.
The Johnson County Coroner’s Office is conducting an investigation to determine the cause of death of the pickup driver.
RELATED: Trafalgar officer in critical condition, undergoing surgery after pursuit ends in deadly crash