HANCOCK COUNTY — A woman out on bail for battery and other misdemeanor traffic crimes in the county struck an Indiana State Police trooper’s vehicle on Interstate 70 Tuesday night before trying to flee the scene, officials said.
The trooper, Scott McPheeters, who was off duty, was driving at about 8:30 p.m. on I-70 eastbound near the 112-mile marker in a construction zone when his police vehicle was struck by another eastbound car driven by Jennifer Dee Coomer, police said. The location is about eight miles east of the I-70 Greenfield exit.
Coomer, 47, Greenfield, attempted to flee the scene on foot after the collision and was suspected of being impaired, officials said in a press release. When other troopers arrived, Coomer allegedly became combative and resisted arrest. She was eventually taken into custody and transported to an area hospital for injuries from the crash. McPheeters was also transported to an area hospital with non-life threatening injuries, officials said.
Preliminary investigation revealed Coomer was driving on the emergency shoulder, illegally passing traffic in a single-lane construction zone. Officials said her car struck the right rear of McPheeters’ police car and then struck a guardrail.
Investigating officers believe Coomer was impaired at the time of the crash but will know more once blood work is completed.
Coomer was arrested on the preliminary charges of disorderly conduct; driving while suspended; reckless driving; resisting law enforcement; operating while intoxicated and battery resulting in bodily injury to a public safety officer. Officials from the prosecutor’s office were still working on the case as of the Daily Reporter’s deadline on Wednesday, July 7, and had not officially filed charges.
According to county court records, Coomer was out on cash bonds from two separate cases where she is facing similar charges. A jury trial for a Level 6 felony count of battery against a public safety officer and a Class A misdemeanor charge of resisting law enforcement from an incident in May of 2020 was slated for next week in Hancock County Superior Court 2. The case has since been pushed back until September.
Coomer is also slated to have a bench trial in Superior Court 2 on Monday, July 19, where she faces two Class A misdemeanor counts of operating a motor vehicle without ever receiving a license and operating a motor vehicle without financial responsibility. Those charges stem from an incident in February 2020.
Coomer was still listed as an inmate in the county jail.
