Police have said they are investigating the case as a vehicular homicide. Michaels, 21, was northbound in the southbound lanes of I-75 in Moraine about 8:10 p.m. when her car collided head on with another carrying a Mason husband, wife and daughter, authorities said.
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Timmy Thompson, 51, and Tessa Thompson, 10, died at the scene after their Toyota Camry was struck by a Kia driven by Michaels near mile marker 49 and the Dryden Road exit, police said.
The third victim, Karen Thompson, 50, did not survive after being taken to Kettering Hospital, police records show.
Michaels, who had what medics described as beer “coming from her mouth,” was taken to a hospital and police drew her blood after obtaining a warrant, records show.
Moraine police - who have said for weeks they were awaiting the blood alcohol content lab results on Michaels before forwarding to the case to prosecutors – said Friday the case “is nearing a conclusion.”
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“I will not say the investigation is concluded until (Michaels) is formally charged,” Moraine Sgt. Andrew Parish said in an email. “I have submitted my case to them and am patiently waiting for a date to file the charges.”
This news organization on Friday asked the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office a series of questions about the case, including when authorities would present findings to a grand jury.
“At this time our office is reviewing the filing and it remains under investigation,” the prosecutor’s office responded.
Michaels crossed over the median in the area of the 49 mile marker “via the paved turnaround restricted for authorized and emergency vehicles,” Moraine police have said.
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One witness said he was driving northbound on I-75 when he saw a white sedan pull into the “U-turn area of the median,” records show.
The witness said the car “then pulled into the middle lane of oncoming traffic and within 10-15 seconds hit another car head-on,” police records state.
The wreck backed up I-75 traffic for hours.
After the accident, Michaels had “frothy fluid coming from her mouth” which “the medics identified as beer,” Moraine police records state.
She was “wearing a festive St. Patrick’s Day shirt, multiple green, plastic shamrock necklaces and she had a temporary tattoo on her right cheek of an apparent beer mug,” police records show.
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