HAMMOND, Ind. — A New Jersey man is in custody after Indiana State Police said he attacked two tractor-trailers with a long-handled axe on eastbound Interstate 80 in Hammond on Friday afternoon, then fled a pursuit that ended when Lake County sheriff’s deputies boxed in his car, according to a Post-Tribune report citing an Indiana State Police Lowell Post release.
Ivan Savych, 29, of New Jersey — police did not provide a hometown — was taken to the Lake County Jail for processing, the Post-Tribune and WRTV reported. Online court records cited by the Post-Tribune list a felony count of resisting arrest using a vehicle and two misdemeanor counts of criminal vandalism, plus a citation for expired plates. NBC Chicago described preliminary charges as resisting law enforcement, a Level 6 felony, and two counts of criminal mischief, Class A misdemeanors; WRTV summarized the same investigation as a low-level felony resisting count and two counts of criminal mischief. Final counts are set by the Lake County Prosecutor’s Office.
Key facts
- ~4:30 p.m. — first 911: axe attack near Calumet Avenue / 1.9-mile marker
- ~4:49 p.m. — second 911: similar attack near Cline Avenue / 5.4-mile marker
- Pursuit — Volkswagen accelerated from about 16 mph to 60 mph, then to 80 mph before a box-in stop
Around 4:30 p.m. Friday, troopers were dispatched to the 1.9-mile marker on I-80 eastbound near the Calumet Avenue overpass for a report of a man attacking a semi-tractor with an axe, Indiana State Police Sgt. Glen Fifield said in the release quoted by the Post-Tribune.
Officers found a 2025 Freightliner tractor-trailer parked on the inside shoulder. The driver told police a black 2011 Volkswagen with Illinois registration had been driving erratically, brake-checking and cutting off other semis before stopping in lane 2 directly in front of her, forcing a complete stop, according to the ISP account.
She said a white male left the Volkswagen barefoot, appeared irate and yelled incoherently, the release states. He then reversed, nearly striking her truck, exited again holding a long-handled axe with a leather blade cover, and struck her grille — puncturing the radiator — and the driver-side headlight, according to the Post-Tribune and WRTV. The driver told police he approached her door until her large dog barked loudly inside the cab, prompting him to return to the Volkswagen and flee.
About 4:49 p.m., dispatch received a second 911 call near the 5.4-mile marker by the Cline Avenue overpass, ISP said. The second victim told troopers he saw the car traveling between lanes 2 and 3 at about 10 mph, tried to change lanes to avoid it, then watched the Volkswagen swerve in front of him and stop. The man exited and struck the front of a 2023 Freightliner with the axe before fleeing, according to the release. That driver pulled over near Burr Street after the attack, the Post-Tribune reported.
Trooper Jordin Rosillo later saw the Volkswagen eastbound on I-80, activated lights and sirens, and the vehicle accelerated from 16 mph to 60 mph, starting a pursuit, ISP said. The driver reached 80 mph before Lake County Sheriff’s deputies boxed the car in and brought it to a stop. Police conducted a felony stop and detained the driver.
Rosillo told investigators the driver did not speak English and was uncooperative, according to the ISP release. Deputies found a long-handled axe with a leather cover inside the Volkswagen and transported Savych to the Lake County Jail.
A booking photo was not immediately available, WRTV reported. Region N3 will update if the prosecutor’s office files amended charges or if a court appearance is reported.
Photo credit
- Inline figures from Region N3 stock gallery / file (illustrative; not crime-scene originals unless noted)
- Photo: WRTV — Image from original coverage of this story.