MICHIGAN CITY

Officials: Fuel leak was traced to truck stop

A Michigan City truck stop is the apparent source of a fuel leak, which sent about 50 gallons of fuel into a ditch where it flowed about mile before it was discovered, officials said.

Emergency responders worked several hours Friday in the area of Steel City along U.S. 421 just south of Interstate 94.

Somehow, the fuel found its way into a sump pump used to contain a high water table at the truck stop, LaPorte County Haz-Mat Director Jeff Hamilton said.

The pump deposited a mixture of water and fuel into the ditch, Hamilton said.

About 9 a.m., a man about a mile away on County Road 950 West discovered the fuel in a ditch in front of his home and notified authorities.

Hamilton said the fuel was traced to Steel City but the exact source of the leak was not known.

A ruptured tank or line are among the possibilities, he said.

Hamilton estimated 50 gallons of fuel wound up in the ditch, which was diked at both ends to contain the plume.

He said no danger was posed and it was not known if the fuel had actually filtered into the groundwater.

"We're going to have to have the area out here tested for it," Hamilton said.

LAPORTE

Man, 37, pleads guilty to molestation, incest

An accused sex offender agreed to a 20-year prison sentence Friday in LaPorte Circuit Court.

Steve Arvin, 37, of Rolling Prairie, pleaded guilty to Class A felony child molesting and Class B felony incest.

The charges allege he had sexual contact with two children, ages 12 and 14, in separate incidents early in 2007.

Under terms of the plea, Arvin would also be placed on 10-years probation upon his release from prison.

He also would have to register as a sex offender.

The plea agreement was taken under advisement by Judge Tom Alevizos, who will sentence Arvin on Jan. 9 if the terms are accepted.