Police: Teen stole mother's car before crash kills Gary man

GARY, Ind., (AP) - A 15-year-old boy hit his mother with a brick and stole her SUV minutes before he crashed it into another vehicle at high speed, killing a 40-year-old Gary man, police said.

Derrick Jones, who died at Tuesday morning's crash scene, suffered blunt force trauma in the crash, which was ruled an accident by Lake County's coroner, The (Northwest Indiana) Times reported.

Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. said that prior to the crash, it is believed the boy hit his mother in the head with a brick during a domestic disturbance and then drove off with her SUV.

Martinez said preliminary investigations showed that the Chevy SUV was traveling at a high rate of speed a short time later when it collided with the Hyundai Elantra near a Gary intersection.

The SUV then drove off the roadway, hit a stop sign and rolled over, while the Elantra came to a rest more than 200 feet north of the intersection, police said.

Gary police Cmdr. Jack Hamady said both Jones and the teen were the only ones in their vehicles. He said the juvenile driver, whose name has not been released, was taken to a Chicago hospital.