La Porte deputies busy with weather related calls

La Porte County deputies responded to a large number of calls for service between 6 a.m. and midnight Monday due to icy, windy weather, according La Porte County Sheriff John Boyd.

During the 18 hour period, deputies responded to 169 calls for service including 35 crashes, 87 vehicle incidents including disabled vehicles or slide-offs.

They also responded to reports of trees blocking roads or downed power lines.

US421 was shut down between Westville and Wanatah while NIPSCO crews replaced utility poles broken by ice accumulation and strong winds.

"Fortunately throughout the entire day there were no serious injuries” stated Sheriff Boyd in a press release. “We typically don’t see that many calls for service in such a short period of time. By way of comparison, during the same time period the previous Monday we responded to 53 calls for service. Obviously the weather plays a large part in the increase however we also had several experiences with drivers that were traveling entirely too fast for the weather conditions. I’m very proud of the efforts our deputies put forth; we had the assistance of our of our reserve deputies however did not have to call in extra manpower. We are also very thankful for the partnership we share with other law enforcement agencies in the county including Kingsford Heights, Westville and Trail Creek, all of whom assisted our deputies as well as handled calls in their own towns."