WEST LAFAYETTE, IN — A two-car accident late Saturday netted the arrests of three drivers on suspicion of drunk driving, according to West Lafayette police.
A motorist on Sagamore Parkway called 911 about 11 p.m. Saturday to report a gray BMW SUV driving west in the eastbound lanes, police said. Before officers could respond, 911 dispatchers received a second call about a head-on crash between the BMW and a Chrysler Pacifica, according to police. The accident happened on the hill east of Soldiers Home Road and west of the Wabash River bridge.
Shay Elizabeth Theobald, 49, of the 3000 block of Covington Street in West Lafayette, was driving the BMW westbound in the eastbound lanes, police said.
Corwin Vondale Porter, 48, of the 10 block of Tuscany Court in Lafayette, was driving the Pacifica, police said.
Both vehicles suffered massive front-end damage, police said.
Three people were in Porter’s car: his wife, Curletha Porter, 42, a 7-year-old boy and a 19-year-old man, Ciante Porter, police said.
Firefighters had to extricate Curletha Porter from the wreckage. She was admitted to the hospital, police said, but she has since been discharged.
Everyone from the wreck was taken to the hospital to be checked out, police said.
Police jailed Theobald on suspicion of drunk driving causing serious bodily injury. She remained incarcerated Monday morning, according to jail records. Her bond has not been set, and she has a hearing at 2 p.m. Monday in the Tippecanoe County Magistrate’s Court.
Theobald is a teacher for the Lafayette School Corp. Superintendent Les Huddle said students are on fall break this week, and Theobald’s job status with the school corporation has not yet been decided, Huddle said.
Police jailed Porter on suspicion of drunk driving with a child younger than 18. He was released Monday morning from the jail, according to police.
Police blocked off eastbound Sagamore Parkway between Soldiers Home Road and Duncan Road to allow investigators to safely work.
Ethan Eli Barrett, 22, of the 11000 block of U.S. 231 in Romney, evaded the barricades. He got onto the four-lane road by going the wrong way on the Soldiers Home Road exit ramp. He drove up behind a fire truck and stopped.
Police suspected Barrett was driving drunk and arrested him.
Officers jailed him about 4:50 a.m. Sunday on susupicion of drunk driving, disorderly conduct, resisting law enforcement, possession of marijuana and possession of paraphernalia. He has since been released from jail, according to jail records.
The Journal & Courier could not discover who employs Barrett and Porter.
Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Two-car crash in West Lafayette results in 3 drunk-driver arrests
Reporting by Ron Wilkins, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
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