STEUBEN COUNTY, IN (WTVB) – Steuben County Sheriff’s investigators are finalizing their active investigation and will forward their findings to the Steuben County Prosecutor’s Office for a formal review of potential criminal charges against 30-year-old Tayler J. Lorenz of Jonesville.
The investigation follows a high-speed, single-vehicle crash just after 10:30 p.m. Friday in rural Jackson Township, where Lorenz allegedly failed to navigate a 90-degree curve in a 2017 Ram 2500 pickup truck and struck several trees.
Lorenz fled the scene on foot with a 3-year-old and a 6-year-old child, abandoning two other injured minors inside the vehicle.
The remaining victims, a 4-year-old and a 16-year-old, were transported to Parkview Regional Medical Center in Fort Wayne in critical condition.
The missing children taken by Lorenz were later located with minor injuries at a family residence in Hillsdale County, following a large-scale search involving drones, K9 units, and area fire departments.
Lorenz turned himself in to the Branch County Sheriff’s Office in Michigan around 10:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, where he was interviewed by detectives.
Investigators are still working to determine how Lorenz traveled from the crash site in Indiana to Hillsdale County and eventually ending up in Branch County.
Once the crash report is completed, prosecutors will review the case to determine the exact criminal charges Lorenz will face.
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