(La Porte County, IN) - A teenage driver survived despite his car being split in half in a northern La Porte County tree collision.

 

At about 6 a.m. on Sunday, emergency responders were called to 1000 North near 125 East in Galena Township where the back end of a 1998 Oldsmobile was embedded in a tree, the front half of the vehicle lying roughly 50 feet away.

 

The driver, 19-year-old Dallas Ryans, was taken by ambulance to Northwest Health and later transferred to a trauma center in South Bend for treatment of an upper spinal fracture.

 

The investigation showed Ryans was traveling eastbound at high speeds when he veered off the two-lane road to his left and struck a tree, police said.

 

The rear half of the vehicle was embedded in the tree. The front half of the car went up and over a six-foot-high metal fence along the perimeter of the Hesston Steam Museum, before striking a utility pole.

 

Ryans told investigators he left the road trying to avoid a possible animal that jumped in front of him.

 

Charges of operating while intoxicated and underage drinking are being sought in the case. The New Carlisle man had an alleged blood alcohol level of .097 percent, which is slightly above the .08 percent legal limit.