Prosecutors said Michaels deliberately drove the wrong way on Interstate 75 in Moraine on March 17, causing the wreck that claimed the lives of husband and wife Timmy and Karen Thompson, and their 10-year-old daughter Tessa, of Mason.
RELATED: Bond set at $3 million in wrong-way triple fatal wreck
Indictments against Michaels on those charges were announced Thursday, more than four months after the triple fatal wreck.
A statement from her estranged husband on July 8 indicated Michaels told him “I’m going to drive backwards on I-75” just minutes before the triple-fatal crash occurred, according to Moraine Police Division records.
Michaels’ husband said she called him about 8 p.m. March 17 and it appeared she had been drinking.
RELATED: 5 things to know about wrong-way crash murder case
“Abby insisted on coming over,” her husband stated in police records.
Michaels’ blood-alcohol content was above the legal limit, but the evidence shows intoxication “was not a contributing factor in this crash,” according to Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck.
The call to her husband was made after Michaels saw friends at Miamisburg pizza restaurant, police records show. Michaels got to the restaurant around 6 p.m. March 17 and “seemed to be sober and seem to be in a good mood” police records dated July 2 show.
RELATED: Area wrong-way crash deaths reach 15 in 3-plus years
Michaels was arrested for murder Thursday by Moraine police at a Washington Twp. alcohol and drug treatment facility, records show.
She was handcuffed and searched before being taken away in a patrol car, according to police records.
A detective went to the facility after failing to find her at a Xenia address earlier that day, according to police records.
-MORE COVERAGE ON THIS ISSUE:
RELATED: Police investigate wrong-way triple-fatal as vehicular homicide
RELATED: Coroner ID’s family of 3 who died in wrong-way crash on I-75 south in Moraine
About the Author
