(La Porte County, IN) - Police say a Michigan City man admitted to being “a little high” after causing a head-on collision that caused an 8-year old boy to lose most of the vision in his left eye.

 

The boy also suffered a broken leg that required surgery to repair. 

 

Those are among the new details obtained from the case against 21 year old Shallun Culp.  Culp is charged in La Porte Superior Court 1 with Level 4 felony operating while intoxicated causing catastrophic injury along with criminal recklessness and driving on a suspended license, both Level 5 felonies.

 

According to the charging information filed with the court, Culp was passing a semi-truck from behind in a no-passing zone at well over 80 miles per hour in October of 2025 on U.S. 421 south of Michigan City.  He was still in the opposite lane of the two-lane highway when he struck an oncoming mini-van operated by Tiffany Robertson.

 

According to police, Culp apologized for the crash, saying he was “kinda, a little high.”

 

Court documents also revealed Culp told investigators he had “nodded off” just prior to the crash and consumed a drink mixed with cough syrup.  He allegedly tested positive for marijuana and ecstasy in his system.

 

The boy in the Robertson vehicle was airlifted to a Chicago children’s hospital where a rod was surgically placed into his broken leg to help it heal, police said.  According to court documents, the woman and one other passenger were taken by ambulance for treatment of their undisclosed injuries.  Culp complaining of a possible broken leg was taken to a South Bend hospital for more specialized care.

 

Just over two weeks after a warrant was issued for his arrest in March, police said Culp was taken into custody at Walmart in Michigan City where he had just recently landed a job.