There were two warrants out for the arrest of 51-year-old Craig Daniel Blake of Bloomfield when he was taken into custody last weekend. As a result of events police say transpired during a chase and search for Craig Blake on Saturday, more charges were filed on Monday and there are now three criminal cases pending against Blake in Greene Superior Court. This story is about the first case.

Back in May of 2017, two men were injured, one seriously, in an accident involving one vehicle, a truck that was pulling a trailer on a county road north of Bloomfield. Craig Blake was the driver of the truck. He left the scene but was located and taken to the sheriff’s department for an interview. He passed standard field sobriety tests, but when asked to submit to a blood test, he refused.

The lead investigating officer, Detective Shawn Cullison of the Greene County Sheriff’s Department, applied for a search warrant, which was approved, and the Greene County Ambulance Service arrived to perform a blood draw on Blake.  

Cullison did not receive the results of the blood test back from the lab until October 30, 2017. Cullison reported the blood draw analysis from the Indiana Department of Toxicology showed methamphetamine at a level of 250 ng/mL in Blake’s blood.

With that result in hand, charges were filed against Blake on November 1 and a warrant issued for his arrest. He was booked into jail, then posted $800 cash to bond out.

When he appeared for his initial hearing, a public defender was appointed to represent him, his license was immediately suspended, and he was charged with:

• Leaving the scene of an accident with serious bodily injury, a Level 6 felony, and
• Causing serious injury while operating a motor vehicle with a Schedule I or II controlled substance in the body, also a Level 6 felony.

The accident occurred the evening of Saturday, May 19, 2017. A woman calling the sheriff’s department said a man had been run over by a trailer on Tulip Road.

First responders and an ambulance were called and Greene County Sheriff’s Deputy Harvey Holt was dispatched. Holt learned a family preparing to move had been packing a 2016 Ford F650 U-Haul truck and the man and his son drove the truck to another residence to get help to move a camper trailer and attach it to back of the U-Haul. Another man they did not know, later identified as Blake, happened to be there at the time and also helped.

Blake was then driving the truck back to the couple’s home, pulling the camping trailer, being followed by another vehicle, with the man and his son riding on the back bumper of the truck. At some point, both the man and his son were thrown or fell off the back of the truck.

The son suffered injuries and was transported to IU Health Hospital in Bloomington by the Greene County Ambulance Service.

The father suffered more extensive injuries – he had gotten run over by, then stuck and trapped under the trailer. He was airlifted to Regional Hospital in Terre Haute where he was treated for injuries including a broken femur. He underwent surgery and a metal rod had to be placed in his leg.

Holt said when he arrived, first responders told him Blake was on the scene when they got there, but had left before law enforcement arrived. With assistance from Det. Cullison and GCSD Chief Deputy George Dallaire, Blake was identified as the driver and the officers located him at the residence where the camper had been hooked up to the truck.

According to Det. Cullison, during the interview at GCSD, Blake said he left the scene because fire personnel told him to. However, the officers said they could not find any fire personnel who told Blake to leave.

This case was pending when Blake had another run-in with an officer in March. A second case was then filed against him, his bond in this first case was revoked and a warrant issued for his arrest.

No trial date has been set but Blake is scheduled to be back in court in June for a pre-trial conference in this first case.

Click to read other stories involving Blake.