LOWELL, Ind. — An Indiana State Police vehicle was struck by an alleged impaired driver Sunday morning on I-65 near the 249-mile marker, according to state police. The vehicle was unoccupied at the time and there were no injuries reported.
Police said at approximately 6:15 a.m. Sunday, troopers and Hoosier Helpers from the Indiana Department of Transportation were assisting in traffic control for a jackknifed semi that was blocking all lanes of traffic.
According to police, the driver of a 2018 Jeep swerved around an INDOT vehicle that had its emergency lights activated and moved to the far right lane. The driver then swerved between the far left lane and far right lane before smashing into a trooper vehicle that also had its emergency lights activated.
The trooper who the vehicle was assigned to was standing outside of the vehicle and witnessed the erratic driving before running into a ditch to avoid injury.
The driver, 30-year-old Hakeem A. Bahhur of Orange, California was uninjured and refused to take a field sobriety test. A blood draw search warrant was granted and Bahhur was placed into custody, where he is preliminarily charged with Operating while Intoxicated, a Class A Misdemeanor.