HANCOCK COUNTY — The woman accused of running her vehicle into an unmarked Indiana State Police car on Interstate 70 on Tuesday night has been officially charged with multiple crimes.
The charges include a Level 5 felony count of battery causing bodily injury to a public safety officer.
Jennifer D. Coomer, 47, Greenfield, was charged with eight crimes in all. In addition to the Level 5 felony, Coomer is facing two Level 6 felony counts of battery against a public safety officer; a Level 6 count of operating while intoxicated; a Level 6 felony count of criminal recklessness committed with a deadly weapon; a Level 6 felony count of driving while suspended; a Level 6 felony count of resisting law enforcement and a Class A Misdemeanor count of resisting law enforcement. The most serious charge carries a sentence of up to six years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
According to a probable cause affidavit released Thursday, July 8, Coomer is accused of striking Detective Kelly McPheeters’ unmarked police car, which had three people inside, and was highly combative with multiple officers.
Coomer was so combative she had to be forcibly restrained after fighting officers and medics who came to examine her for injuries from the crash, the affidavit said.
According to a witness account cited in the affidavit, Coomer was speeding through a construction zone about eight miles east of Greenfield at about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, using the emergency lane because of slow-moving traffic in the single eastbound lane. Her estimated speed was 70 to 80 mph when her vehicle struck the passenger side of McPheeters’ car. The force of the crash pushed his car sideways.
McPheeters said he checked to make sure his two daughters who were in the vehicle were all right, then activated his emergency lights and went to check on Coomer. By then, she had left her car, and she attacked the officer, striking him several times with closed fists before he shoved her away. She also attacked other troopers who arrived to assist.
McPheeters was treated and released at Hancock Regional Hospital. Coomer, who also was taken to the hospital, struggled with medical staff who were trying to treat her. She had to be restrained by security, the affidavit said.
Once released from the hospital, Coomer was taken to the county jail, where she was given a portable breath test that showed a blood-alcohol content of 0.179, more than double the legal limit some four hours after the crash, the affidavit said.
Coomer made her initial appearance in Hancock County Superior Court 1 on Thursday, July 8, where judge D.J. Davis set an $8,000 cash bond and added a 15-day hold on Coomer, something deputy prosecutor Cathy Wilson had asked for.
Coomer may be in violation of a plea agreement in Rush County, Wilson said. According to court documents, she was facing similar charges there, including resisting law enforcement. Court records show Coomer had just been given a plea agreement in that case in late June.
She’s also facing two different cases in Hancock County Superior Court 2 dealing with similar issues, court records show.
Davis entered a not-guilty plea on Coomer’s behalf and appointed a public defender. The court then set a pretrial conference for late August that requires Coomer to attend.
