A woman driving under the influence killed three people when she crashed her truck into two vehicles on Sept. 4, according to multiple reports.
Tammy Rodriguez, 42, was suspected by authorities of driving under the influence. When officials tried to pull her over, she sped off, according to WDRB. Rodriguez ended up crashing her truck head-on into a Chevy Sonic, then hitting a Jeep Cherokee causing it to roll over. Three people were killed, including Rodriguez’s sister who was in the passenger seat of Rodriguez’s truck. The crash happened on I-75, in Lexington, Kentucky.
Rodriguez’s sister, Debbie Lynn Bevins, 35, died at the scene of the crash, while the other passenger suffered life-threatening injuries from the crash. The occupants of a Chevrolet Sonic that Rodriguez, Taylor Blevins, 26, and Caitlyn Bailey, 20, were the other two who died at the scene. The driver of the third vehicle involved, a Jeep Cherokee, suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to the police, Lexington Herald Leader reported.
Rodriguez did not sustain any life-threatening injuries, according to authorities, the Lexington Herald Leader reported.
James Hall, the Winchester Police Captain, said in an interview that a deputy saw Rodriguez speeding on I-64, heading east, a little before 10 p.m. on Sept. 4. She was driving her Ford F-150 erratically, and the deputy pursued her. Rodriguez escaped by making a U-turn and headed west towards Fayette County. Police in Clark County notified the Lexington County police about Rodriguez shortly after 10 p.m., and warned them about Rodriguez’s speeding truck heading their way. Hall said that even though the authorities were driving 90 mph, Rodriguez still outran them.
“She was crossing all lanes of traffic and traveling at a high rate of speed,” Hall said. “She had already run a couple of vehicles off the road in Clark County.”
She merged onto I-75 north, then drove southward into oncoming traffic in the northbound lane, according to the Lexington Herald Leader. She crashed near an entrance ramp for I-64.
According to Lexington Herald Leader, Rodriguez was charged with driving under the influence and operating a vehicle without a licence. The Fayette and Clark Counties both have additional pending charges.
Lexington Herald Leader reported that this would be Rodriguez’s fifth DUI charge, as she has had a history of DUI charges from Pike County and Shelby County dating back to 2003. In addition to the DUI charges, she possessed other convictions in Kentucky for public intoxication, endangering the welfare of a minor, prostitution, shoplifting, and drug possession, according to her court records, the news outlet reported.
