HARRISON COUNTY — Indiana State Police are investigating after a Valparaiso man wanted in connection with a double homicide crashed shortly after a trooper attempted to stop his car.
Around 5 a.m. Friday, area law enforcement was advised to be on the lookout for a gold Buick passenger car and its driver in reference to a double homicide that occurred late Thursday night in Evansville, state police said.
While searching for the car, Trooper Dakota Novak spotted a car matching the description backed into a hotel parking spot just north of I-64 in Corydon. Novak noted that the car was occupied and requested assistance before approaching the car. A short time later the car pulled out of the parking spot and Novak followed just as Harrison County deputies also arrived.
After the Buick turned north onto State Road 135, Novak attempted to stop the car, however, the car sped off at a high rate of speed, and Novak advised he was in pursuit. In a matter of seconds, the gold Buick crossed over the center line and drove off the west side of the roadway. The car then ramped over a driveway and became airborne before striking a utility pole and coming to rest upside down off the west side of the highway. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene by the Harrison County coroner.
A crash reconstruction team arrived to investigate the crash and detectives from the Evansville Police Department were also contacted.
The investigation reveals that the driver was the suspect wanted in connection with the two murders in Evansville on Thursday evening. The suspect has been identified as Samuel Aaron Robb, 30, of Valparaiso, state police said.
The crash investigation is ongoing, and an autopsy is scheduled for Monday morning. Further information on the actual cause of death is expected to be released following the autopsy, state police said.
The Indiana State Police was assisted by officers with the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department, The Harrison County Coroner’s Office, and the Harrison Township Fire Department.
