An Indiana mother is facing six felony charges after allegedly causing a violent crash while driving drunk, then abandoning her injured children inside an overturned SUV and running away before police arrived.
Mia Kelli Winkel, 31, was arrested October 3 following the frightening collision in Anderson, approximately 35 miles northeast of Indianapolis.
According to court documents, Winkel was driving a black SUV with several children inside when she allegedly slammed into a truck near the intersection of 23rd Street and Central Avenue shortly before 11:30 a.m.
The impact sent her SUV flipping onto its side before it crashed into a utility pole.
When emergency responders arrived, they discovered multiple children still inside the wrecked vehicle.
But their mother was nowhere to be found.
Witnesses told investigators they watched the SUV strike the truck, overturn, and collide with the pole. They then allegedly saw the driver climb out of the wreckage and flee the scene on foot, leaving the children behind.
One of Winkel’s children suffered a broken rib during the crash. A child riding in the other vehicle sustained a broken arm.
Fortunately, no fatalities were reported.
Police quickly identified Winkel as the suspected driver and located her at a residence in the 2200 block of Main Street, just three blocks from the crash.
Officers described the mother as extremely upset and so impaired that she struggled to stand without assistance, according to court records cited by local news outlets.
While being transported to St. Vincent Hospital for a medical evaluation, Winkel allegedly made several troubling statements.
Investigators say she repeatedly admitted that the crash was her fault while asking officers whether anyone had died.
At the hospital, however, Winkel reportedly told police she couldn’t remember the collision or even driving the SUV.
A preliminary breath test allegedly registered a blood alcohol concentration of 0.221, nearly three times Indiana’s legal driving limit of 0.08.
Medical personnel also collected a blood sample for additional testing.
Following the investigation, Madison County prosecutors filed six felony charges against Winkel.
She faces one count of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in serious bodily injury, two counts of operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury, and three counts of neglect of a dependent resulting in bodily injury.
Prosecutors have also filed notice that they intend to seek a habitual offender sentencing enhancement, which could increase her potential punishment if she is convicted and the necessary prior convictions are established.
Winkel appeared for an initial hearing in Madison County Circuit Court on October 8.
She was being held at the Madison County Jail on a $50,000 bond, according to court records reported this week.
The case raises disturbing questions about the decision to leave young children inside a wrecked vehicle following a serious collision, particularly when at least one child had suffered a broken bone.
Indiana law requires drivers involved in crashes resulting in injuries to stop, provide identifying information, and take reasonable steps to ensure injured people receive assistance.
Leaving the scene when someone has suffered serious bodily injury can result in substantial criminal penalties.
Authorities have not publicly disclosed the children’s ages or detailed their recovery.
The investigation has left Winkel facing a potentially lengthy prison sentence over a crash that injured two children and could have ended far more tragically.
