Police: DUI teen crashes car into tree, car catches fire

ADAMS COUNTY, Ind. (WANE) - Police said an intoxicated 18-year-old girl drove her Mercedes Benz into a tree, shearing the car in half early Saturday morning.

Ashley Koehlinger, 18, of Markle, escaped from the car after it caught on fire.  Authorities said the teen was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries and then to the Adams County Jail. She is incarcerated on preliminary charges of operating while intoxicated and minor consuming under a $2,500 bond.

Police said Koehlinger was driving westbound on County Road 110 N when she over corrected and drove over the center line into a ditch. She then drove into a private yard and struck a car with her right, rear door.

“If she would have had any passengers in the back seat at the time of the crash, there would have been a high probability that they would not have survived," Kris Coffey, a senior trooper with the Indiana State Police, said.

Police said Koehlinger's blood alcohol level was between two and three times the legal limit of .08%.

Police said speed was also an contributing factor in the accident.