DATE: September 05, 2023
SUBJECT: Driver from Fatal I-69 Crash Arrested
RELEASE NUMBER: 2023-NR-0905
CONTACT: Sheriff Noah Robinson
AUTHORITY: Sheriff Noah Robinson
On September 04, 2023 at 7:44 PM Evansville Vanderburgh Central Dispatch received a 911 call reporting a motor vehicle accident with injuries in the northbound lanes of Interstate 69 south of the Highway 57 exit near the 17.5 mile marker. The Scott Township Fire Department arrived on scene at approximately 7:53 PM and advised there were two vehicles involved, later notifying dispatch that one passenger was deceased. The Sheriff’s Office arrived and began an investigation.
A white Toyota Corolla was found in the grassy median, in between the northbound and southbound lanes, facing north. The Corolla had heavy front end damage. A gray Mercury Sable, with severe rear end damage, was found in the right northbound lane of Interstate 69, facing south. A deceased female passenger was seated inside the Sable.
Preliminary information from the crash investigation showed the Sable had been parked on the shoulder of the northbound lanes of Interstate 69 when the Corolla, driven by its sole occupant Mariah Kammerer, collided into the rear of it.
A witness, who advised had been traveling north on Interstate 69, observed a white passenger car pass him at a high rate of speed. The witness described the white passenger car as weaving within the lanes of travel and barely staying on the roadway. The witness later came upon the crash and immediately recognized the car that passed him to be the vehicle involved in the crash. The witness stopped to render aide and heard Kammerer admit to being drunk from a Labor Day party.
Another witness also observed the white passenger car driving recklessly as it passed her. The witness described the vehicle as driving very fast and “was flying by other cars”. The witness also stopped at the crash scene and spoke to Kammerer, who was described as “emotional, screaming, and smelled strongly of alcohol”.
Kammerer was transported to a local hospital where a sheriff’s deputy read her the Indiana Implied Consent Warnings. Kammerer refused to take a chemical test for intoxication. A search warrant to obtain a blood test from Kammerer was completed. A judge signed the search warrant and a blood sample was obtained from Kammerer. While at at the hospital a presumptive alcohol test for Kammerer was obtained, indicating a blood alcohol content of more than two and a half times the legal limit of .08. Kammerer`s presumptive drug screen also produced positive results for illegal substances. Kammerer’s blood sample will be further analyzed by the State Department of Toxicology.
Kammerer was transported to the Sheriff`s Office Operations Center, where a detective attempted to interview her. Kammerer requested an attorney and declined to answer any questions.
ARRESTED:
MARIAH GAIL KAMMERER, 29, of Evansville. Operating a Motor Vehicle while Intoxicated Causing Death as a Level 4 Felony.
PREVIOUSLY: Crash on I-69 Kills One
Presumption of Innocence Notice: The fact that a person has been arrested or charged with a crime is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.
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