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Indiana high-speed police chase ends with 2 arrests

By Nic Flosi
Published  May 12, 2026 12:22pm CDT
Police Chases
FOX 32 Chicago

The Brief

    • Indiana State Police say a driver reached speeds up to 140 mph during a chase early Tuesday morning.
    • The driver faces multiple charges, including resisting law enforcement and impaired driving.
    • A passenger was also arrested on outstanding warrants; two others were released.

GARY, Ind. - Two people were taken into custody after a high-speed chase stretched across two northwest Indiana counties early Tuesday morning.

Indiana high-speed police chase

The backstory:

The pursuit began around 2:06 a.m. along Interstate 80 in Gary, when an Indiana State Police trooper spotted a black Toyota speeding.

According to ISP, the Toyota was clocked at 110 mph in a 55 mph zone in Lake Station before accelerating further to 133 mph as the trooper attempted to call in the license plate.

When the trooper activated his emergency lights, the driver appeared to slow down but then abruptly changed lanes and sped off again, reaching speeds of 120 mph and turning off the vehicle's headlights while traveling east on Interstate 94.

The chase continued into Porter County, where ISP said the vehicle weaved through light traffic at speeds up to 135 mph. Portage police officers who were ahead of the pursuit used stop sticks near the 21-mile-marker, but the vehicle kept going, reaching about 140 mph before its tires began to fail.

The car eventually lost multiple tires and came to a stop in Chesterton. Four people were inside the vehicle and all were detained without further incident, according to ISP.

The driver, identified as 20-year-old Carmela Maureen Pantoja of Elkhart, showed signs of alcohol impairment, ISP said. After failing several field sobriety tests, she later recorded a blood alcohol content of 0.09% at the Porter County Jail.

A search of the vehicle reportedly turned up multiple containers of alcohol and a small amount of suspected weed.

What's next:

ISP said Pantoja remains in custody on the following preliminary charges:

  • Resisting Law Enforcement – Level 5 Felony
  • Resisting Law Enforcement – Level 6 Felony
  • Operating While Intoxicated Endangering – Class A Misdemeanor
  • Possession of Marijuana – Class B Misdemeanor
  • Operating While Intoxicated – Class C Misdemeanor
  • Reckless Driving – Class C Misdemeanor
  • Minor Consumption – Class C Misdemeanor

Carmela Maureen Pantoja and Maliek Long | ISP

A passenger, 23-year-old Maliek M. Long of Elkhart, was also taken to jail on multiple outstanding warrants tied to charges including escape, resisting law enforcement, leaving the scene of a crash and marijuana possession.

Two other passengers were released at the scene.

The Source: The information in this story came from Indiana State Police.

Police ChasesGaryPortageChestertonNews