GNAW BONE — A Taylorsville woman has been charged with reckless homicide after police say her distracted driving caused a fatal crash last November on State Road 46 East in Brown County.
The three-vehicle crash happened on Nov. 9 near Nelson Ridge Road. One woman was killed and three people were injured.
Sheila Hendricks, 43, of Bartholomew County, was charged Aug. 6 in Brown Circuit Court with reckless homicide, a Level 5 felony; texting while driving, a Class C infraction; and three counts of criminal recklessness, all Class B misdemeanors.
Indiana State Police Det. Paul Suding had come upon the crash while he was off duty. Suding told Det. Brian Shrader at that time that Hendricks, the driver who rear-ended the first vehicle, was on her phone texting someone when he arrived on scene, and that he believed she may have been driving distracted when the crash occurred, according to a report that Shrader wrote.
Shrader reviewed the accident scene and reported coming to a similar conclusion.
Hendricks was driving west on 46 East when she struck the rear of a 2012 Hyundai Sonata driven by Eric Knechtel, 56, of Columbus, police said. Knechtel was uninjured. Knechtel had slowed because of a car that was turning in front of him.
After striking Knechtel’s vehicle, Hendricks’ 2011 Dodge van left the westbound lane and struck an eastbound 2017 Chevrolet Cruze head-on, driven by Joy Watson, 59, of Chesterfield.
Watson was flown to Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital with internal injuries to her entire body, the November accident report stated.
Her front-seat passenger, Baylee Bell, 22, of Anderson, was taken to Columbus Regional Hospital by ambulance for an internal abdomen/pelvis injury, the report said.
The victim seated in the backseat of the Cruze, Jane Lyons, 54, of Anderson, was declared dead at the scene by Coroner Earl Pipe due to catastrophic injuries, the police report said.
Hendricks sustained serious injuries to both of her legs. She was taken to Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.
Shrader reported that Hendricks’ vehicle showed no signs of slowing down before it struck the first car.
While emergency personnel were trying to get Hendricks out of the vehicle, a fireman told Shrader that she may have been on her phone before the crash. Shrader seized the phone to begin an investigation.
Det. Shrader and Det. Paul Henderson went to IU Methodist Hospital to get a blood sample from Hendricks, as is standard practice in fatal accidents. While there, Henderson met with Hendricks’ husband, who said that she had texted him after the crash, Shrader’s report said.
Deputy Scott Bowling wrote in the original accident report that Hendricks’ husband told police that she had looked up to see Knecthel hit the brakes, but could not stop in time.
On Nov. 13, detectives spoke with Hendricks who gave officers consent to search her phone. She told the detectives that the driver in front of her stopped, causing her to get scared and brace herself for impact.
Shrader asked Hendricks what she had looked up from when she saw that Knechtel was stopping. She said she was looking at the window and mentioned a bug being on it, but detectives noted that the temperature on the day of the crash was 36 degrees, their report said.
Hendricks denied texting while driving. She said she had not been on her phone since the stoplight on 46 East in Columbus near CVS. She said she was sometimes scared of driving and would probably never drive again.
Hendricks told detectives that a man had found her phone by her feet after the crash. She said she had taken photos with her phone of the inside of the van, then used it to call her husband.
Using data from Hendricks’ van and Joy’s car, Henderson was able to determine that both vehicles were traveling within normal speed limits at the time of the crash. The data also showed that Hendricks was driving 59 MPH five seconds prior to the crash and that her speed was 44 MPH at less than a second before impact. Henderson reported finding just under 12 feet of skid marks prior to the crash, indicating “very little braking” prior to impact, the affidavit states.
Officers also were able to determine Hendricks was using cruise control at the time of the crash, which contradicted the statement she made to police at the hospital, the report said.
Shrader reported going through Hendricks’ phone and finding “audio text” messages between her and her husband. Messages began at 3:30 p.m. and went to 3:40 p.m. The last message before the crash was sent at 3:50 p.m. from Hendricks’ phone saying “On my way” and included her GPS location, which showed her at the exact location of the crash, the affidavit states.
The crash was called in at 3:53 p.m. by a bystander and Suding reported it to the ISP at 3:55 p.m.
“Based on those times, Hendricks was texting on her phone at the time this accident happened,” Shrader wrote.
There was a gap between 3:50 p.m. when she texted her husband and 3:57 p.m. when she called him after the crash. Shrader reported that this gap accounted for the time her phone had fallen between her feet until someone gave it back to her.
Shrader also listened to the messages Hendricks had sent to her husband before the crash and reported hearing Hendricks driving with background noises. He reported in one message he could hear a turn signal being turned on and the wind as Hendricks was driving.
She also had sent a message saying she was passing a certain street, which contradicted her statement to police about not texting and driving, police said.
A warrant for Hendricks’ arrest was served on Aug. 7. She was booked into the Brown County jail and released less than an hour later after posting $5,000 bail. Court records as of Aug. 12 show she had not yet hired an attorney.
