HANCOCK COUNTY — Police say the woman who allegedly drove drunk Thursday and caused a head-on crash, killing a 44-year-old Wilkinson woman, was heading back from a concert in Noblesville.
Rachel Thomas, the Wilkinson woman who died from injuries suffered in the crash, was a passenger in the back seat of a small sedan heading westbound on State Road 234 when it was struck by a car driven by 24-year-old Leanna Murphy, of Richmond. The accident happened about 12:45 a.m. on the Fourth of July near Troy Road, east of State Road 9, according to a Hancock County Sheriff’s Department news release.
Murphy’s vehicle, a Mini Cooper, apparently crossed the other car, a Ford Focus. The impact of the crash caused the front end of the Ford to crumple, and firefighters had to cut away the doors and roof of the Ford to help the four trapped occupants inside, said Robert Harris, public information officer for the sheriff’s department. The Mini Cooper, he said, ended up in a nearby field.
Thomas was taken to Hancock Regional Hospital, where she was pronounced dead; Murphy and a passenger in the Mini were also taken to Hancock Regional with minor injuries. A medical helicopter transported the female driver of the Ford to IU Methodist Hospital, and two male passengers in the Ford were taken to Methodist by ambulance for treatment of their injuries, according to the news release.
Harris said Murphy and the passenger in the Mini were heading home from the Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center in Noblesville, where they had attended the blink-182 and Lil Wayne concert. The driver of the Ford had left Anderson and planned on dropping off passengers at their home.
After Murphy was treated for her injuries, police tested her for alcohol and drugs. Harris said after finding that Murphy’s blood-alcohol content level was higher than the legal limit of 0.08, officers arrested Murphy and took her to the Hancock County Jail on a preliminary charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing death. Harris said Murphy will stay in jail until at least Friday morning when she goes before a judge; all Hancock County offices were closed on Thursday due to the Fourth of July holiday.
Harris said the driver of the Ford was not under the influence of alcohol.
Speed doesn’t appear to be a factor into the crash, he said. The crash closed the state highway for about four hours early Thursday morning, Harris added.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 237 people were killed in drunken-driving crashes during the 2017 July Fourth holiday. According to an analysis by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety using data from 2010 to 2014, the Fourth of July was the second-most dangerous holiday for drunken driving. New Year’s Day ranked first.
Harris said if anyone chooses to drink alcohol over the holiday weekend away from their home, they should make sure to identify a designated driver ahead of time, or use a ride-share service to get home safely.
