ADAMS COUNTY, Ind. (WANE) – She had just left church. She had a “little” bottle of Vodka in her car, but it was still “too much.”
That’s what Christen Gerber told police March 9 at the scene of a crash in Adams County that sent two teenagers to the hospital– one with life-threatening injuries.
The Adams County Prosecutor on Friday charged the 41-year-old with two counts of operating a vehicle while intoxicated resulting in serious bodily injury, a Level 5 felony.
Police at the scene found a 17-year-old driver and a passenger- her boyfriend- lying in a field near the scene of the crash, which happened at the intersection of State Road 124 and County Road 700 West around 8:30 p.m. that night.
The teen, Kaylee Heckber from Bluffton, was driving with her boyfriend when Gerber’s SUV hit Kaylee’s car on the driver’s side.
Kaylee’s boyfriend told police at the hospital he remembered seeing a vehicle speeding toward them. After the crash, he looked to his left and saw that Kaylee wasn’t in the driver’s seat anymore, he told police.
“In the two weeks since the collision, [Kaylee] has made an incredible recovery,” police noted in court documents. “Although [Kaylee] remains hospitalized, it appears she is on the road to continued recovery which seemed impossible shortly after the collision.”
Police determined Gerber was driving about 60 mph and disregarded the stop sign at the intersection.
Police noted in court documents they could smell the alcohol on Gerber’s breath, and she had a “thousand-yard stare.” Gerber took a breath test at the scene and the result was .214, said police, who also found open alcoholic beverages in Gerber’s Chevrolet Traverse.
The Adams County Jail confirmed to WANE 15 Gerber had not yet been arrested as of Friday afternoon. A warrant has been issued for her arrest.