Deputies responded at 6:45 a.m. on Thursday, October 22, to the 2300 East block of US Highway 20 in Kankakee Township for a two-vehicle fatality crash, the La Porte County Sheriff's Office said. Deputy David Francis, the first to arrive, located a 2026 Freightliner semi tractor that had been involved in a head-on crash with a 2003 Harley-Davidson motorcycle, the sheriff's office said in its statement, carried by WIMS Radio.

Source: La Porte County Sheriff's Office via WIMS Radio

The initial investigation found that the motorcycle was eastbound on US Highway 20 and driving erratically when it crossed the centre line and struck the westbound Freightliner head-on, the sheriff's office said. The Freightliner was operated by Joseph Muller, 41, of Goshen, Indiana. The operator of the motorcycle was pronounced deceased at the scene and has not yet been identified, deputies said. County dispatch logs from the same morning independently record a motorcycle-versus-semi response on East US 20 with a passerby performing CPR and the coroner requested, matching the sheriff's account.

Source: CrimeRadar dispatch log, La Porte County

6:45 a.m.Time deputies responded on Thursday, Oct. 22
2Vehicles involved — a Freightliner semi and a motorcycle
41Age of the semi driver, Joseph Muller of Goshen, Indiana
1Person killed — the motorcycle rider, not yet identified

The motorcycle had been reported stolen through the Coloma, Michigan Police Department on October 21, the sheriff's office said. Toxicology test results are pending. Assisting at the scene were the Indiana State Police Motor Carrier Division, La Porte County EMS, the Kankakee Township Volunteer Fire Department, the La Porte County Coroner's Office and INDOT, according to the statement.

Source: La Porte County Sheriff's Office via WIMS Radio

Anyone who can help identify the motorcycle operator, or who has information about the crash, is asked to contact the lead investigator, Chief of Detectives Capt. Andy Hynek, at 219-326-7700 Ext 2401, the sheriff's office said.

Source: La Porte County Sheriff's Office via WIMS Radio

What is solid

  • The La Porte County Sheriff's Office statement establishes the time, place, vehicles, the centre-line finding of its initial investigation, the semi driver's name and hometown, and that the rider died at the scene and is not yet identified.
  • County dispatch logs independently corroborate a motorcycle-versus-semi crash response on East US 20 that morning, with CPR in progress and the coroner requested.

What is only claimed

  • Why the motorcycle crossed the centre line is not established — the sheriff's office describes its findings as an initial investigation, toxicology results are pending, and the rider's identity has not been released.