The Porter County Sheriff’s Department is investigating two fatal wrecks over the weekend.
Sherry Elizabeth Barnes, 66, of Valparaiso, died in a Morgan Township crash Friday night in the area of Ind. 49 and County Road 400 South. Police were called to the wreck around 9:23 p.m.
Jeffrey Schultz, 41, of Valparaiso, died in the second accident, which police said occurred around 8:07 p.m. Saturday at Ind. 49 and County Road 250 South, also in Morgan Township.
In the first wreck, Denise Diane Mikolics, 66, of Valparaiso, has been charged with causing death when operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, a Level 4 felony, and misdemeanor counts of operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person and operating a vehicle while intoxicated, according to online court records.
According to a sheriff’s department report, Barnes was trapped in her vehicle when police arrived. Mikolics, police said, was standing outside her vehicle drinking from a clear plastic cup, which she told police was water before she put it down at their request.
Mikolics, police said in a crash report, failed to yield the right-of-way to Barnes, who was turning to go north on Ind. 49.
Mikolics, according to the report, told police she was heading to her residence in Valparaiso from a Morgan Township bar and had “no idea what happened.” Police said she was southbound on Ind. 49 instead of northbound towards Valparaiso.
Police said her breath reportedly smelled of alcohol, her speech was slightly slurred, her eyes were bloodshot, and her balance was unsteady.
Mikolics, according to police, had a blood-alcohol content level of .135, and was taken to a nearby hospital for toxicology tests before being transported to Porter County Jail.
Police said Mikolics reportedly “had a somewhat unsympathetic attitude to the overall situation” while at the hospital, asking if the other driver, who died at the scene, would also be tested for drugs and alcohol, and implying that “just because she was hurt worse doesn’t mean she’s innocent.”
According to a police accident report from Saturday night’s fatality, witnesses told police that a vehicle traveling westbound on County Road 250 South reportedly disregarded a stop sign and struck Schultz’s vehicle, which overturned.
Schultz, who needed to be extricated, was later pronounced dead at Franciscan Health Crown Point, police said.
The driver of the other car, 47, of Valparaiso, and his passenger, also needed to be extricated, police said. The driver was airlifted to the University of Chicago Medical Center, and his passenger was transported to Franciscan. The driver, according to the crash report, suffered incapacitating injuries.
The passenger told police he had consumed alcoholic beverages during trick-or-treat and initially told police he was unsure whether the driver had any alcoholic beverages, and then said the driver “also consumed about 1-2 beers/drinks.”
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The Post-Tribune is not naming the driver of the second vehicle because he has not been charged with a crime.