It took over two years, but a driver is now behind bars for a drunk driving accident that claimed the life of her husband. She’s now facing serious charges, including vehicular homicide and DUI.
The woman and her husband had both apparently been drinking the night of the fatal crash on May 16, 2010. She was driving their Mitsubishi Eclipse on Ashville Highway in Sevier County when she apparently lost control of the vehicle in the eastbound lane, overcorrected and crossed the highway, according to authorities.
The vehicle apparently veered off the road and crashed into a tree. The woman’s 39-year-old husband was killed in the crash, which happened just after 2:15 a.m. He had not been wearing a seat belt. A report from the Tennessee Highway Patrol says that it was eventually determined that the 35-year-old woman was drunk at the time of the crash.
She was arrested last week on a sealed presentment, which was signed by a grand jury in November 2010, and was kept private until she was arrested. Authorities say that she is charged with vehicular homicide by intoxication, vehicular homicide and DUI. She is reportedly being held at the Sevier County Jail on $200,000 bond. She is set to be arraigned in late August.
The woman, who sustained injuries in the accident as well, had apparently been on the run since being indicted by the grand jury in November 2010.
Source: Knoxville News Sentinel, “Woman whose husband died in 2010 Sevier County crash charged with vehicular homicide,” Natalie Neysa Alund, June 29, 2012