An off-duty Hammond police officer has been charged in connection with a three-vehicle crash that killed a Gary man.

Indiana State Police say 34-year-old Alonso J. Lopez of Hammond faces charges of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated causing death, a Level 4 felony, and reckless homicide, a Level 5 felony. A warrant was issued, and Lopez surrendered to state troopers at the Hammond Police Department. He was taken to the Lake County Jail for processing.

The crash happened around 8:55 p.m. Oct. 16 on Columbia Avenue near 165th Avenue. According to the preliminary investigation, a Chevrolet Silverado traveling north on Columbia Avenue crossed 165th Avenue at a high rate of speed and struck a Toyota Highlander that was entering the road from a nearby business parking lot.

The impact sent the Chevrolet into the southbound lanes, where it was struck by a Ford SUV. The Toyota crashed into a fence west of Columbia Avenue. The Toyota’s driver, Thomas Hunt Jr. of Gary, died. The drivers of the Chevrolet and Ford were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and later released.