(La Porte County, IN) - A man who crashed into two vehicles while driving erratically on a stretch of highway in La Porte County Monday was arrested for allegedly being impaired.

 

 

 

Jeremy Catchings, 36, of Michigan City was booked into the La Porte County Jail on charges that include operating while intoxicated.  According to La Porte County Police, Catchings about 3 p.m. was northbound on U.S. 421 at a high rate of speed near Otis when he attempted to pass a vehicle in a no-passing zone.

 

He returned to the northbound lane and went off the right side of the roadway before returning to the pavement and striking the rear of a vehicle in front of him, police said.  Police said Catchings crossed the center line again then crashed head-on with an oncoming pick-up truck.

 

Catchings was placed into an ambulance where he allegedly argued and threatened a paramedic with a pair of scissors he grabbed from inside the rig, police said.

 

Police said he was also abusive toward nurses and a doctor at the hospital where a blood sample was taken from him due to major signs of impairment from alcohol.  The results of the test were not disclosed.  The OWI charge was elevated to a felony because of a prior impaired driving conviction, police said.  No serious injuries were reported from the collisions.