Off-duty NW Indiana police officer killed in car crash, police say

LAKE CO., Ind. - An off-duty Munster police officer was killed in a car crash in unincorporated Lake County, Indiana, early Tuesday morning.

The two-car crash happened around 1 a.m., according to police.

Fatal crash

What we know:

Sheriff’s deputies were called to the scene in the 11400 block of Wicker Avenue just south of St. John.

The crash involved a Dodge Ram pickup truck and a semi.

Officers found the driver of the pickup truck was dead.

He was identified as Ryan Perez, 31, a police officer with the Munster Police Department for the last few months, sheriff’s police said. He had transferred to the department from another department in Illinois.

Ryan Perez, 31, a police offer in Munster was killed in a car crash in Lake Co, Indiana, on Feb. 25, 2025. | Munster Police Department

Perez was off duty at the time of the crash and driving his personal car.

An initial investigation indicated the pickup was traveling north on U.S. Highway 41 while the semi was traveling south. Near the 11400 block of Wicker Avenue, the pickup collided with the semi.

The driver of the semi, a 41-year-old man from Schererville, Indiana, was not injured. He was taken by his employer to a local hospital for state-mandated testing.

What we don't know:

The crash is under investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Department Crash Reconstruction Unit and Detective Bureau along with the Lake County Coroner’s Office.

Police were looking into what factors contributed to the crash.