An Illinois man was airlifted to an unspecified hospital Sunday night after Chesterton Police said that was struck by two vehicles on Ind. 49, apparently after deliberately running into their path.

The victim was identified as Alan Cohn, 50, of Channahon, Ill.

According to police, at 6:39 p.m. the CPD received a report of a male subject, on Ind. 49 in the area of Gateway Blvd., who “was running into traffic and appeared as if he was trying to get hit by vehicles.”

A Cincinnati, Ohio, trucker advised police that he first observed the man later identified as Cohn about 400 feet north of Gateway Blvd. walking southbound on the outside shoulder of the northbound lane. The trucker stated that, “for safety reasons,” he shifted from the right lane to the left lane, at which point Cohn ran “towards his vehicle,” forcing the trucker to veer left into the median. The trucker succeeded in missing Cohn as well as re-gaining the roadway.

The trucker then stopped his rig and observed Cohn now running southbound in the direction of other northbound vehicles, two of which struck him, a Saturn being driven by an Oaklawn, Ill., driver, and a semi driving by a Perryopolis, Pa., trucker, police said. Cohn got to his feet after being hit by the Saturn, police said, then ran in front of the semi.

Cohn was transported by EMS personnel to Porter Valparaiso Hospital Campus, then airlifted to another hospital.

Cohn’s vehicle was subsequently located in the Bob Evans parking lot.

The investigation is ongoing.

Also responding to the scene were the Porter Police Department, the Porter County Sheriff’s Police, the Indiana State Police, and the NICTD Transit Police, for whose assistance the CPD expressed its gratitude this morning.

Chesterton firefighters also responded at 6:44 p.m. and cleared at 7:08 p.m. but returned to the scene again at 7:30 p.m. to man spotlights for investigators. The CFD cleared the scene for the last time at 10 p.m.

Posted 4/18/2011