Alleged drunk driver charged in wrong-way crash that killed 20-year-old woman in NW Indiana: police

HOBART, Ind. (WLS) -- A suspected drunk driver has been charged in connection with a wrong-way crash that killed a woman in northwest Indiana last month, officials said on Saturday.

Indiana State Police said 29-year-old Hebron, Indiana woman Jessica T. Hughes has been charged with reckless homicide, death when operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalent of .08% or above, and causing serious bodily injury while operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalent of .08% or above.

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ISP said Hughes allegedly had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.18% at the time of the Feb. 21 head-on crash, which killed 20-year-old Rylee Hanson.

The crash happened in the northbound lanes of Interstate 65, north of 61st Avenue near Merrillville. Hughes and a passenger in Hanson's car were seriously injured.

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After the warrant was issued, Hughes turned herself in to the Lake County Jail and posted bond, ISP said. She is due in Lake County Superior Court in April.

Hanson's family said she was a ray of light who graduated from Kankakee Valley High School in Demotte, Indiana, where she earned her EMT certification from Ivy Tech Community College. She was headed to criminology studies at Indiana University.