Police arrested a Valparaiso man Sunday after he reportedly crashed his pickup truck through the front window of a convenience store, went in and gave the clerk the wrong contact information, and took off before police got there because he said he was late picking his kids up for church, according to a police report.
Deputies with the Porter County Sheriff’s Department arrested Christopher Spencer, 49, of the 600 block of Oswego Road, on misdemeanor charges of driving while intoxicated and endangering others; leaving the scene of an accident; and driving while intoxicated. They transported him to Porter County jail.
Police were called at 11:05 a.m. Sunday to Family Express, 254 Indiana 130 in Center Township, where an employee reported Spencer allegedly drive into the front of the building, breaking the glass window and causing about $3,000 in damage, according to a report.
Spencer came into the store and wrote his information on a form provided by the employee but his handwriting was partially unreadable, the report said.
“The driver then told (the employee) that he was late picking his kids up for church and that he had to leave before police arrived,” the report stated.
The employee was able to write down his license plate number before he left, police said.
Police said in the report that Spencer wrote down someone else’s name and the number listed on the form did not work, but they were able to reach him by running his license plate number through state records and contacted him by phone before arriving at his residence.
Spencer allegedly told police he gave the Family Express employee false information because he was “scared” and wasn’t thinking, the report states.
Spencer told police he was attempting to park his pickup in front of the Family Express when he stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake, causing the vehicle to go over the parking curb and into the front window of the building, a report said.
He allegedly told police he planned to return to the convenience store Monday to speak with a manager about the broken window.
Amy Lavalley is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
