Warrant issued for grandmother charged in 2014 crash that killed her granddaughter
Douglas Walker
MUNCIE, Ind. — An Indianapolis woman was scheduled to stand trial next month on charges stemming from a Delaware County traffic accident — nearly eight years ago — that killed her 4-year-old granddaughter.
However, when Donna M. Randolph — observing her 49th birthday on Sunday — failed to show up a pre-trial hearing last Monday, Delaware Circuit Court 3 Judge Linda Ralu Wolf canceled the trial, which had been set for June 13.
The judge also issued a warrant for Randolph's arrest.
Randolph was charged, in May 2015, with reckless homicide and driving with a controlled substance in her system causing death, both Class C felonies carrying up to eight years in prison.
From 2017:Fatal crash case takes another detour
Indiana State Police said Randolph was driving on the northbound lanes of Interstate 69 about a mile south of the Ind. 32/67 interchange — on June 3, 2014 — when her car slowed or came to a stop and was struck from behind by a pickup truck.
The crash — which sent the Indianapolis woman's car into a ditch — killed her 4-year-old granddaughter, Tavionna Ford.
Investigators said the child was secured in the car with a seat belt, but was not in a state-required child restraint seat.
Six other people, including Randolph, were injured in the collision.
Blood tests measured Randolph's blood-alcohol content at 0.04 percent — half the legal standard of intoxication for motorists in Indiana. Toxicology tests also reflected she smoked marijuana before the crash.
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Over the past seven years, Randolph's trial has been scheduled — and then postponed — more than 10 times.
In 2017, Randolph was scheduled to plead guilty to at least one of the charges against her, but failed to show up for that hearing. A plea agreement in the case was later withdrawn.
More recently, delays in the case have been attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, which at times limited activity in local courts.
From May 2019 to August 2021, Randolph was in prison, the result of a driving-while-intoxicated conviction in Marion County.
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Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.