(Michigan City, IN) - A man is accused of being impaired when causing a fatal collision with a motorcycle last night in Michigan City.

 

Alvin Speakes of Michigan City is charged in La Porte Superior Court 1 with operating while intoxicated causing death.  He could face a 2 to 12 year sentence on the Level 4 felony count.

 

The victim, John Crowley of Portage was pronounced dead at Franciscan Health shortly after the collision before 8 p.m. near the Mt. Baldy entrance to the Indiana Dunes National Park, according to court documents.

 

According to court documents, the investigation alleges Speakes was traveling on Beverly Drive in a 2013 Nissan Rouge when he proceeded through a stop sign intending to continue eastbound on U.S. 12.

 

The front of his vehicle hit the victim’s 2003 Honda motorcycle westbound on U.S. 12.

 

Police said Speaks, who’s elderly and walks with a cane, told investigators he had “two” drinks a couple of hours prior to the collision.

 

A blood sample taken from Speakes to determine the amount of alcohol or drugs in his bloodstream will be sent for analysis to the Indiana State Department of Toxicology.

 

However, police said there’s already evidence of impairment such as the reading on a portable breathalyzer device registering a 0.09 percent blood alcohol content, which is slightly above the legal limit of .08 percent.  

 

In his report, the officers also noted Speakes had an odor of alcohol on his breath and exhibited other signs of intoxication like slurred speech, poor balance and glassy eyes.

 

Speakes is scheduled to make his initial court appearance on the allegations on September 3.