William Gilbert Paterson
Lake County Sheriff's Department
Tuesday, January 25, 1994
Served: 18 years
Badge #: 236
Panel 43E, Line 19
Panel L19, Line 3
Incident Details
Cause of Death:Vehicle pursuit
Date/Time of Incident:
Tuesday, January 25, 1994
05:10 am
Incident to Death Duration:
Same day
Incident Location:
U.S. 30 and Randolph Street
Incident County:
Lake
Incident Township:
Ross
Weapon Used:
None
Suspect Disposition:
Died at the scene
Burial Place:
Calvary Cemetery, Portage
Sergeant William Paterson was killed in a two-vehicle accident during a high-speed pursuit of a stolen vehicle from Hamlet in Starke County.
As the pursuit entered Lake County, his patrol car was broadsided by the suspect's vehicle, which flipped over, caught fire and rolled into a ditch 170 feet from impact.
Sergeant Paterson was transported to Southlake Methodist Hospital in Merrillville where he died from massive head and chest injuries.
The 14-year-old male driver, who had walked away the day before from a substance abuse rehabilitation center in Grovertown, was also killed. Two male juvenile occupants in the vehicle were also injured in the accident.
Sergeant Paterson, from Merrillville and a certified private pilot, was survived by his wife, 15- and 20-year old daughters, 17-year-old son, who had served with the department, 12- and 14-year-old stepsons, mother and brother.
Military Service
United States Air Force Reserve |
Historical Notes • Sergeant Paterson is one of five officers with a line of duty death who were certified pilots.• The 14-year-old offender is the youngest known to be involved in a line of duty death in Indiana. |
Lake County Sheriff's Department
Sergeant Paterson