Ohio woman charged with reckless homicide in Jay County crash

PORTLAND, Ind. – An Ohio woman has been charged with drunken driving and reckless homicide in a crash in Jay County last August that left one person dead and two others seriously injured.

According to an Indiana State Police report, a Hyundai Veloster driven by Brianna Faye Mason, now 23, was eastbound on Ind. 26 near Ind. 67 about 2:20 a.m. on August 14, when the Veloster left the state highway and became airborne. crashed and rolled.

A passenger in the Veloster, 20-year-old Taylor Lewis Lemaster of Bern, was killed.

At least two other passengers, young women from Anderson and Chesterfield in Madison County, were also seriously injured.

One of the victim’s injuries included a broken pelvis, a punctured lung, broken ribs and three brain hemorrhages. She was in a coma for three days at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio.

More: Portland man convicted for role in crash that killed teen

While video taken before the crash showed the car traveling at 120 mph, the Veloster’s speed shortly before leaving the highway was about 75 mph, according to the crash report.

In recent days, Mason — from Sidney, Ohio, about 50 miles southeast of Portland — was charged in Jay Circuit Court with causing death while driving under the influence, reckless homicide, driving without ever receiving a driver’s license and two counts of driving while intoxicated. reckless driving charges.

The most serious charge against her is a Level 4 felony, punishable by up to 12 years in prison.

According to an affidavit, a breath test measured Mason’s blood alcohol level at 0.086. In Indiana, drivers with a BAC of 0.08 or higher are considered intoxicated.

A warrant was issued for the arrest of the Ohio woman on April 26.

Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at [email protected].

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