A Thursday morning single-vehicle crash resulted in the death of one passenger and the arrest of the driver for operating a vehicle under the influence causing a fatality.
On Jan. 16, just after 10 a.m., the Indiana State Police and the Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Department reportedly responded to a single-vehicle fatal crash on I-65 northbound near the 165-mile marker.
A preliminary investigation was conducted that found a 2008 Hyundai Accent was traveling northbound on I-65 when it reportedly veered onto the shoulder on the west side of the road for unknown reasons, allegedly causing the driver to overcorrect, which caused the vehicle to cross over the northbound lanes before leaving the roadway on the east side. The vehicle reportedly rolled over and came to rest on its roof.
Despite life-saving efforts, a passenger of the vehicle was pronounced deceased at the scene by the Tippecanoe County Coroner’s Office. The passenger’s identity is currently being withheld pending positive identification of next of kin.
The driver was identified as Framber Monserrat, 29, of Chicago. Monserrat and a juvenile passenger were reportedly transported by EMS to a Lafayette-area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The department stated that during the course of the investigation, information was gathered that led troopers to believe that Monserrat was under the influence at the time of the crash, and upon his release from the hospital, Monserrat was taken into custody and transported to the Tippecanoe County Jail.
Monserrat has been preliminarily charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing death, level 5 felony, neglect of a dependent causing bodily injury, level 5 felony, operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a minor, level 6 felony, and operating a vehicle while intoxicated, class C misdemeanor.
The investigation remains ongoing, and no further information has been released.