Lake County- On July 27, 2024, at approximately 2:30 a.m., troopers were dispatched to a crash that occurred on I-80/94 eastbound lanes near the 8.0 mile-marker. This location is between Burr and Grant St. Initial reports were that a passenger vehicle had rear-ended a box/bucket truck.
Trooper Galvan arrived on scene and located the vehicles and observed that the car had rear-ended the bucket truck at a high rate of speed. Further investigation also showed that the car, a 2024 Honda Civic, had been driving eastbound on the interstate when for unknown reasons, left the roadway and rear-ended the truck. The driver of the Honda was located in the car but was unresponsive when troopers arrived at the scene. Troopers and first responders attempted to render first aid, but efforts were unsuccessful. The Lake County Coroner later declared the driver deceased at the scene. The driver of the truck was not injured.
Preliminary investigation by Trooper Galvan shows that the driver of the box truck had stopped the truck on the right emergency shoulder due to it sustaining a mechanical failure and was not drivable. For safety, the driver of the truck had placed orange cones on the side of the road and behind the truck as required. As he was sitting in the cab of the truck, he felt the impact from the car rear-ending his vehicle.
The deceased has been identified as Corey Stephen Nicholas, 36, from Chesterton, IN. The family of the deceased has been notified. An autopsy and toxicology tests are pending further investigation by the Lake County Coroner’s Office. The driver of the truck was not impaired. The Indiana State Police Crash Reconstruction Team also responded to the scene to assist.