A Huntingburg woman who was seriously injured and life flighted after a one vehicle accident between Jasper and Huntingburg early this morning will eventually face a number of charges including OWI and leaving the scene.
The Dubois County Sheriff’s Department says at around a quarter after 12 this morning, 30-year old Melissa Wheatly of Huntingburg was leaving Jasper in route to her residence in Huntingburg along South Meridian Road about a mile south of State Road 162 when deputies say for an unknown reason her car traveled off the roadway and struck a wooden fence and the rear of the vehicle came to rest on a tree.
Authorities say Wheatly fled the scene as a passenger in another vehicle, but that vehicle was stopped a short distance later by a Sheriff’s Deputy.
EMS was contacted and took Wheatly to Memorial Hospital in Jasper after she was found to have suffered a head injury. Police say while at the hospital, it was determined that Wheatly had a Blood Alcohol Content of .23%, almost 3 times the legal limit.
She was lifeflighted to St Mary’s Medical Center in Evansville for treatment.
The accident is still under investigation, but authorities say as of now charges of Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated and Leaving the Scene of a Property Damage Accident will be filed. Wheatly was also believed to have not been wearing her seat belt at the time of the accident.
Wheatly’s car was a total loss while damage to a wooden fence and landscape at the scene was estimated at 750-dollars.
The Sheriff Department was assisted by Jasper Police, Huntingburg Police and Memorial Hospital EMS.
