MONROE COUNTY, IN. (THECOUNT) — Madelyn Howard, of Crown Point, Indiana, has been identified as the suspected impaired driver in a fatal Mercedes hit-and-run crash involving a 20-year-old male riding an electric scooter Sunday morning in Monroe County.
Howard, 22, was arrested following the Bloomington crash and charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated resulting in death and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in serious bodily injury or death while intoxicated.
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According to reports, Howard was operating a Mercedes-Benz on North Walnut Street near East 12th Street in Bloomington, when the vehicle came into contact with a male operating a scooter around 2 a.m. The Mercedes then fled the scene at a high rate of speed.
The scooter driver was transported to an area hospital where he was later pronounced dead of blunt force trauma injuries.
Witnesses say, a Mercedes with windshield damage was spotted ‘dragging a scooter’ near 19th and Lincoln streets. Howard and her male passenger then exited the Mercedes and enlisted bystanders to help remove the scooter from underneath the vehicle. Before the couple could leave the scene, police arrived.
Upon arrival, Bloomington police officers say they observed the black 2012 Mercedes-Benz with damage to the windshield, as well as a badly damaged electric scooter nearby.
Police said Howard failed dexterity tests and was transported to IU Health Bloomington Hospital for a blood draw. She was then transported to the Bloomington Police Department for questioning.
Howard was arrested and taken to the Monroe County Jail on the following charges: Operating a vehicle while intoxicated resulting in death — Level 4 felony. Leaving the scene of an accident resulting in serious bodily injury or death while intoxicated — Level 3 felony
Security camera footage from a business near where the crash happened showed the car’s passenger-side tires on the sidewalk east of Walnut Street. Police said the car appeared to be going fast, and a person on the sidewalk was seen jumping into the grass to avoid being hit by the car just before the car hit the person on the electric scooter, reports WTHR.
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geo quick facts: Monroe County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. In 1910 the US Census Bureau calculated the nation’s mean population center to lie in Monroe County. The population was 137,974 at the 2010 United States Census. The county seat is Bloomington – Wikipedia.