CARROLL COUNTY — A woman suffered what police are calling "life-threatening injuries" when her minivan slammed into a state trooper's police car northwest of Indianapolis early Tuesday.
According to Indiana State Police Public Information Officer Sgt. Kim Riley, officers from the Cass County Sheriff's Department tried to stop the van just before 1 a.m. Tuesday on State Road 35 near State Road 24.
The driver, identified as 36-year-old Melissa Smith of Royal Center in Cass County, was allegedly weaving from lane to lane and failed to stop when officers tried to pull her over.
What followed, according to Riley, was a 19-minute chase into Carroll County. It ended when the van slammed into a marked state police cruiser driven by ISP Trooper Andrew Smith. Smith had pulled off the road to prepare stop sticks in an effort to stop the van. He was not hurt, but just missed being struck by the van.
Preliminary evidence indicates Melissa Smith intentionally crashed into the police car. She was rushed to Logansport Memorial Hospital.
Pictures from the scene showed heavy front-end damage to the van and significant rear-end damage to the trooper's car.
