Crawfordsville woman sentenced to prison for fatal DWI accident

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The deer Victoria Jimenez said she thought she struck while driving home early June 28, 2020, actually was Jeffery Lynn Wade, 59, of Indianapolis.

She'll be in prison for the next six years for driving while intoxicated when she killed Wade and for leaving the scene of the fatal accident.

Tippecanoe Circuit Judge Sean Persin sentenced Jimenez on Friday morning to eight years in prison for the crimes. She'll have to serve at least six years before she is released. Additionally, she'll be on probation for one year after she's released from prison.

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Jimenez, who turned 21 just 11 days before the accident, pleaded guilty in September.

She hit Wade early June 28 at the intersection of U.S. 231 and Indiana 25, but she continued driving to her home in Crawfordsville.

Paramedics rushed Wade to the hospital, where he died later that day.

After Jimenez hit Wade, she drove to her Crawfordsville home and waited about two hours before calling police to report she thought she hit a deer, according to prosecutor's probable cause affidavit. She told police she was scared and drove home before calling to report the accident, according to prosecutors.

More than two hours after the accident, her blood-alcohol content tested .128 percent, according to prosecutors who just recently received the lab results on Jimenez blood sample. Indiana's legal limit is .08 percent.

Reach Ron Wilkins at 765-420-5231 or at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.