COLUMBUS, Ind. — A Muncie driver accused of causing a fatal crash in Bartholomew County while he had a blood alcohol level three-and-a-half times above the legal limit was sentenced Thursday in Bartholomew Superior Court 2.
In court, Marcus A. Abram, 28, of Muncie, admitted his responsibility for the death of Heather Wallace, 40, of Indianapolis. The fatal crash on Jan. 1, 2022, occurred along Interstate 65, just north of the Bartholomew-Jackson County line.
Last February, Abram agreed to admit his guilt in a plea bargain to causing death while operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated (OWI), a Level 4 felony. In return, the prosecution dropped the lesser charge of OWI with a prior conviction, a Level 6 felony.
Abram accepted a plea that allowed Judge Jon Rohde to determine the sentence, but the plea bargain capped the amount of executed prison time at no more than eight years.
Although Rohde agreed to eight years executed, the judge added two additional years of probation. He explained his reason was to try to ensure a smooth transition that will prevent Abram from resuming drinking immediately after his release. If the defendant does relapse while on probation, Abram will serve two extra years in prison, the judge said.
Details regarding the fatal accident were outlined in a probable cause affidavit written by Deputy Grant Carlson of the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department.
The investigator wrote that in the early morning hours of Jan. 1, 2022, Wallace pulled off into the grassy median of northbound I-65 after telling her boyfriend she was too tired to continue driving from Louisville, Kentucky to Indianapolis.
The boyfriend got out the front passenger door to walk around the vehicle, but Wallace chose to crawl over the middle console to switch seats, the affidavit stated. As she was crawling into the passenger seat, Abram’s 2015 Mazda crashed into the rear of Wallace’s car at a speed estimated at between 95 to 100 miles per hour, deputy prosecutor Mathew Taylor said.
The impact caused Wallace’ vehicle to spin into a 180-degree turn, coming to rest while straddling the middle line, Carlson wrote. Moments later, her vehicle was struck by a third vehicle, driven by a Pennsylvania woman, the deputy added.
Wallace was thrown from the vehicle after the second crash and pronounced dead at the scene, according to the affidavit. The Pennsylvania woman sustained four broken ribs while her son complained of chest pain. Wallace’s boyfriend suffered minor injuries.
Abram declined to be tested, but a blood sample was taken while the defendant was undergoing medical treatment for his own injuries, according to court documents.
For the complete story, see Saturday’s Republic.
