Two Jackson County teens were involved in a UTV crash Saturday night in Washington County, leaving one seriously injured and the other jailed.
Shane Skylar Prince, 19, of Crothersville was driving the UTV down West Ault Sawmill Road in Jefferson Township in a UTV when he rounded a corner at high speed, police said.
The UTV rolled three times, throwing Prince off and passenger Keeli Faith Darlage, 18, of Brownstown under a three section disc being pulled by a tractor on the opposite side of the road.
According to the probable cause affidavit signed by Washington County Sheriff’s Department Officer Tory Hildreth, Darlage was treated by first responders before being flown to University of Louisville Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky, where she received treatment for severe head trauma, a broken wrist/arm, a broken ankle/leg, a bruised lung and a fractured shoulder.
Hildreth said Prince denied having consumed alcohol despite police observing an empty cooler in the UTV and an empty beer can behind one of the seats.
Hildreth’s report also said Prince’s breath smelled of alcohol, and a tractor driver told Hildreth he saw Prince throwing beer cans into the woods nearby before officers arrived.
Prince was given a preliminary breath test, which showed his breath alcohol concentration level to be at 0.153%. He was then taken to St. Vincent Salem Hospital, where he was given a blood alcohol test, which provided the same result. The legal limit for blood alcohol content is 0.08%.
Prince faces a Level 5 felony charge of operating while intoxicated with a blood alcohol content of 0.15% or greater causing serious bodily injury and misdemeanor charges of minor in consumption of alcohol, blood alcohol content 0.15% or greater and operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person.
Prince was booked into the Washington County Jail in Salem late Saturday night. He later posted a $5,000 bond and was released.
Washington County officers Paul Ginkins and R.H. Bennett assisted with the investigation.
A Level 5 felony carries a sentence ranging from one to six years upon conviction with an advisory sentence of three years.