Two motorcyclists were racing at estimated speeds of 106 to 112 mph shortly before a crash killed one of them on Interstate 94 in Chesterton on Sept. 24, court records show.
Luke Michael Tilford, 25, of Portage, the accused surviving participant, now faces a number of charges, including a Level 5 felony of criminal recklessness, accusing him of aggressive driving that resulted in a person’s death. The four other misdemeanor charges filed this week by the Porter County Prosecutor’s Office include reckless driving and engaging in a speed contest in a highway worksite on I-94
Matthew Lowenthal, 19, of Valparaiso, died from injuries suffered after his motorcycle struck the rear corner of a Tesla at the 27.9 mile marker on I-94 at 8:08 p.m. on Sept. 24, the Indiana State Police said.
After the crash, Tilford had pulled over to the berm and stepped into the lane where a semi-truck ran over his foot, causing him to suffer a broken femur and heel, police said.
Tilford and Lowenthal had come out of a trade skills education program both were attending in Michigan City when they traveled west on I-94, according to the charges.
Jeffrey Garrison, the off-duty police chief of Pinckney, Michigan, was driving on I-94 and saw the motorcyclists “screwing around” as they wove in and out of traffic and gunned their motorcycles to more than 100 mph, court records show. Shortly afterward, Garrison came upon the crash scene.
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When interviewed later, Tilford admitted to police that the two were “lane splitting” — the practice of driving between vehicles.
“I found Mr. Tilford’s statement that they were traveling a little bit faster than the flow of traffic to be a large understatement if not an outright lie,” Officer Spencer Hathaway wrote in the probable cause statement.
Through calculations at the crash scene, witness statements and video footage, Hathaway concluded that the two motorcyclists had been weaving through traffic at extreme speeds from the time they entered the interstate to the time of collision, court records show.
“The average speed calculations of 106 mph and 112 mph through a construction area where the speed limit is reduced to 55 mph leaves me to conclude that the two were participating in a speed contest that resulted in the death of Mr. Lowenthal,” Hathaway wrote in the probable cause statement.
Tilford was served with the warrant on Thursday and taken to the Porter County Jail.
Porter Superior Judge Jeffrey Clymer on Friday set bond at $5,000 cash. An initial hearing has been set for Nov. 25 in Porter Superior Court 2.
Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.