Evansville Legal Issues Blog

Interstate 70 westbound in Putnamville, IN was a disaster on Saturday, March 16th. A total of three separate accidents occurred, claiming the lives of two people altogether. The first accident happened during the morning near the exit for State Road 46. It involved two commercial vehicles and five passenger vehicles, resulting in one fatality. The second accident occurred a few hours later at mile marker 17. It is unclear whether it involved only passenger vehicles or commercial vehicles as well. The third accident occurred at mile marker 48.6 and, again, it is unclear what types of vehicles were involved.

Investigations are still ongoing into all three accidents, and the names and ages of the deceased have not yet been released. The Putnam County Sheriff's Department was called in to handle the third accident, as state patrol were handling the first two. All I-70 westbound lanes were closed for hours while crews worked to clear the scenes.

Going through a divorce can be a trying time. However, options and resources exist to smooth out the process.

The use of mediation instead of undergoing the divorce process in court is one of those options. If you are considering mediation, you should do a few things to make the mediation work for you.

Domestic violence is considered an extremely serious matter in the state of Indiana. These types of charges may also be referred to as domestic battery or domestic assault. An incident is considered domestic in nature when the parties involved are either family members or household members. If such a relationship does not exist, such as when parties are just dating, then charges will be considered regular battery or assault instead of domestic.

Indiana Code, Section 35-42-2-1.3 states that domestic battery occurs when a person knowingly or intentionally touches a family or household member in a rude, insolent, or angry manner,  or in a rude, insolent, or angry manner places any bodily fluid or waste on a family or household member. These acts may be prosecuted as a Class A misdemeanor all the way up to a Level 2 felony depending on the circumstances. The range of punishments can run the gamut from one year imprisonment to up to 30 years imprisonment plus stiff fines and restitution.

A 31-year-old Evansville man was involved in two separate car accidents within minutes of each other recently. The driver was suspected of intoxication and ultimately tested positive for a mix of drugs including methamphetamine, marijuana, and benzodiazepines.

The first crash was deemed to be a hit-and-run accident. The intoxicated driver, travelling in a Chevy Trailblazer, crossed the center line of a two-lane road and sideswiped an oncoming vehicle. He then kept going. Less than 10 minutes later, a second accident occurred involving a total of three vehicles. The SUV first sideswiped another oncoming vehicle causing the driver to swerve off the road, then hit a minivan travelling behind her head-on. The driver of the minivan was an 80-year-old woman who was seriously injured with several broken bones.