Sleepy drivers cause 2 crashes in northwest Indiana, say police

LAPORTE COUNTY, IND. (WLS) -- Two crashes in northwest Indiana Wednesday morning were apparently caused by drivers asleep at the wheel, police said.

The LaPorte County Sheriff's office said the first crash happened at approximately 6:15 a.m. at US 35 and Johnson Road. The driver of the Chevrolet Tahoe was apparently asleep at the wheel when his vehicle struck a guard rail prior to passing through the intersection, striking a traffic signal control box, landscaping, advertising signs, an industrial pump and eventually coming to rest against posts supporting an advertising sign for the Family Express gas station on the northwest corner, according to the sheriff's office.

The second crash occurred around 7:50 a.m. on Waverly Road, also in LaPorte County. A sleeping driver at the wheel of a passenger car veered off the road and crossed a couple of lawns before striking a pickup parked in a driveway, according to the sheriff's office.

No one was seriously injured in either crash.