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Illinois woman, 4-month-old identified as victims killed in crash after White County police chase

Posted at 3:23 PM, Aug 11, 2021
and last updated 2021-08-11 15:25:44-04

WHITE CO. — Two people who were killed in a crash following a police pursuit in White County on Sunday night have been identified by the coroner, according to Indiana State Police.

The White County Coroner's Office identified the two people killed in the crash as 21-year-old Jaliyah Johnson of Country Club Hills, Illinois, and 4-month-old Jeremiah Brown. Country Club Hills is about 25 miles south of Chicago, and 80 miles west of South Bend.

Johnson and Brown were two of six individuals in a car involved in a police chase on Sunday around 11 p.m. in Brookston.

According to ISP, White County Sheriff's Department deputies were in pursuit of the vehicle near State Road 43, when the car crashed into a tree at a high speed at West 3rd Street and South Ripley Street.

The driver, a 23-year-old man of Springfield, Illinois, attempted to flee on foot but was caught by WCSD deputies.

Deputies then found the vehicle was occupied by a 21-year-old man, a 21-year-old woman, later identified as Johnson, an infant, later identified as 4-month-old Jeremiah Brown, and a juvenile and toddler.

Johnson and Brown were pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver was transported to a Lafayette-area hospital with "non-life-threatening" injuries, according to police. He was later found to be under the influence of a controlled substance, according to a release from ISP.

The 21-year-old man who was a passenger in the vehicle was transported to a Monticello-area hospital, but his condition was not released. The juvenile in the vehicle was airlifted to a South Bend hospital and the toddler was airlifted to an Indianapolis hospital.

The driver of the vehicle is facing multiple felony charges, including neglect of a dependent resulting in death, reckless driving causing death, and operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing death.

The 21-year-old passenger transported to a Monticello-area hospital is facing a misdemeanor charge of resisting law enforcement.

WCSD requested ISP investigate the crash following the incident.