Indiana Woman Faces Multiple Charges After OWI Crash

A woman was arrested in Lake County, Indiana, and is facing multiple charges, including violating the governor’s stay-at-home order—the quarantine measure put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The woman fled the scene of a crash and led police officers on a chase after being apprehended. She has been charged with a large number of crimes.

Police found heroin on the woman after catching up to her and believe that she was under the influence at the time of her arrest.

Taking a Look at the Charges

Shannon L. Taylor, who is from Chicago, will face one felony and four misdemeanors related to her actions that day. These include:

• possession of heroin (class-5 felony)
• Leaving the scene of an accident (class-A misdemeanor)
• OWI endangering another person (class-A misdemeanor)
• OWI (class-C misdemeanor)
• Violation of travel order (class-B misdemeanor)

What Happened? 

An off-duty police officer witnessed the crash at around 3 p.m. and called the police as Taylor was attempting to leave the scene. Based on this information, a trooper was able to locate the vehicle which they reported appeared to be swerving into and out of its lane. Taylor did not stop immediately after the police activated their lights. The trooper said he followed the car for a half-mile until it abruptly came to a stop. Once the woman finally stopped, a K9 was called to the scene to search for controlled substances. The search revealed six small bags of heroin inside a magnetic key hider.

Police say that Taylor admitted to using heroin an hour and a half earlier. She refused medical treatment but consented to a blood draw.

Analyzing the Charges

Of the litany of offenses Taylor now faces, possession of heroin is considered the most severe. However, there are no doubt a lot of people struggling right now with addiction issues as the flow of illegal drugs into the United States has been disrupted. This leaves a number of people detoxing without access to the drug with no place to go.

While this may seem bizarre to most people, a level-5 felony is punishable by up to six years in prison and carries the same sentence as manslaughter in our state. The other charges against Taylor are misdemeanors for which the penalty cannot be any longer than one year.

Hopefully, authorities realize that there are many individuals struggling with addiction issues right now that do not have access to their substance of choice. However, she did operate a vehicle under the influence and she did flee the scene of an accident.

Talk to a Fort Wayne OWI Attorney Today

If you have been charged with OWI, drug possession, or violating the stay-at-home order, call the attorneys at The Bellinger Law Office today to learn more about how we can help.