Around 11:05 a.m. Sunday, the Boone County Communications Center received multiple 911 calls stating there was a major crash on I-65 northbound, near the Zionsville exit.
Multiple first responders quickly arrived at the crash which involved eight motor vehicles and one semi-tractor trailer. Witnesses state a fire started after the collision, when a vehicle was pinned against the guardrail by the semi. A separate vehicle was pushed over the guardrail and flipped onto its driver’s side. Two patients were trapped in that vehicle and ultimately extricated. One by local law enforcement, another by Zionsville Fire. Six other vehicles involved suffered serious damage and were blocking all lanes of travel northbound.
The driver of the semi, 34-year-old Mathew Lewis Small of Grandville, MI, stated he was northbound I-65 and looked down to set his coffee mug down, when he ran into slowing traffic. It appears Small collided with all eight vehicles as he plowed through the back-up.
Thirteen patients were transported to St. Vincent’s Hospital and one female (minor) was taken to Riley Hospital. All injuries on the 14 patients appear to be non-life threatening. Two people, from the vehicle pinned against the guardrail, were pronounced dead at the scene. Later it was discovered that a third person, an infant, was also deceased inside of the same car.
The Boone County FACT Team was called to the scene to reconstruct and investigate for possible charges. I-65 Northbound and I-865 Westbound were closed about four hours during the investigation.
After further investigation, Small was charged with three counts of Reckless Homicide (Level 5 Felonies) and booked into the Boone County Jail.
The deceased were later identified as:
Mariah Tomey, 21-year-old, of Lebanon
Hadley Tomey, 1-year-old, of Lebanon
Kaylee Kirk, 19-year-old, of Lebanon
Boone County Sheriff Mike Nielsen commented: “A sad day for two Boone County families. The loss of two young women and a one-year old child. Distracted driving or driver inattention is a major cause of many accidents on our public roadways. In this case we believe it was a contributing factor in this fatal crash. The Boone County Sheriff’s Office feels strongly that those that cause death on our public roadways, because of driver inattention, should be held accountable.
Mr. Mathew Small was charged with three counts of Reckless Homicide by the BCSO Criminal Investigations Division and the Boone County Prosecutors Office. Please pay attention to your driving when operating a motor vehicle. Give yourself plenty of room to have a way out, put down your phone or other objects, DO NOT drive distracted or impaired! Keep these families in your thoughts and prayers.”