Porter County police still seeking Honda that hit jogger
By ERin Guerra Post-Tribune correspondent June 19, 2012 2:12PM
Updated: June 19, 2012 8:18PM
VALPARAISO — More than a week after a hit-and-run driver struck Gabrielle Bigman, Porter County Sheriff’s Police have no solid leads on a suspect.
Despite a number of tips about who may have been driving the 1992-1995 Honda Civic that hit Bigman, 21, as she ran at the edge of the road at about 9:25 p.m. on June 11, Sgt. Larry LaFlower said this is the longest it has taken his department to find a suspect in a crash causing this severe of injury.
LaFlower, public information officer for the Sheriff’s Department, said they believe the driver has hidden the vehicle in a private garage or somewhere where it will not be seen by the public.
Police initially were asking area residents, especially auto mechanics, to look out for a Honda Civic of any color with significant damage to the front and passenger sides. Now, anyone who knows someone who usually drives a Honda but recently began using a different vehicle is asked to call Capt. Larry Sheets at 477-3142. Anonymous tips can be called into WeTip at 1-800-782-7463, with up to a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest or conviction.
Although there were no witnesses to the incident and Bigman does not remember the event, police determined the year and make of the vehicle from broken parts left at the scene, in the 1000 block of North County Road 200W, in Liberty Township.
Bigman broke two vertebrae in her neck, shattered an ankle and dislocated a shoulder. She regained consciousness shortly after the crash and is not paralyzed despite her broken neck. She initially was in intensive care at Porter hospital in Valparaiso but has since been moved to a regular hospital room, LaFlower said.
