Jasper County woman jailed after 36-mile wrong-way drive from Gary casino

Meisha Thomas traveled approximately 36 miles in the wrong direction on I-65 before Indiana State Police detained her in Jasper County. The 42-year-old Chicago woman was taken into custody following an early morning incident involving erratic driving and physical contact with an officer.

At 1:36 a.m. on Sunday, November 1, Thomas placed a call to 911. Dispatchers noted that her voice sounded highly intoxicated and that the information she provided was erratic. Officers tracked her location and found her vehicle traveling between 30 and 50 miles per hour in a 70 mph zone. She had entered Jasper County from Lake County while swerving across lanes and forcing other drivers to brake.

When a trooper pulled the vehicle over, Thomas stated she had departed a casino in Gary to return to Chicago. During the stop, she made repeated sexual comments and physical advances toward the officer. Police reports indicate she attempted to kiss the trooper while he secured her in a seat belt. Despite instructions to stop, she continued making kissing gestures and suggestive remarks.

Thomas could not complete standardized field sobriety tests safely. She subsequently refused Indiana’s implied consent law, leading police to obtain a search warrant for a blood draw at a hospital. The sample was collected before she was transported to the Jasper County jail.

Investigators have preliminarily charged Thomas with four offenses. These include battery against a public safety official engaged in official duty, a low-level felony. She also faces misdemeanor charges for operating a vehicle while intoxicated and endangering a person, operating a vehicle while intoxicated, and reckless driving.