Tragedy struck on Interstate 65 in Tippecanoe County when a single-car crash resulted in the death of a 22-year-old woman from Chicago yesterday morning. The accident occurred around 10 a.m. near the 165-mile marker, just southeast of Lafayette. According to the Journal & Courier, the driver of the 2008 Hyundai Accent veered onto the shoulder, overcorrected, and caused the vehicle to roll over, coming to rest on its roof.
Framber A. Monserrat-Griman, 29, also from Chicago, was identified as the driver. Having been transported to a Lafayette-area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries alongside a juvenile passenger, an infant girl, as they both were found in the car. Upon investigation, evidence indicated that Monserrat-Griman was under the influence at the time of the accident, as reported by WTHR.
The victim, whose identity awaits next-of-kin notification before being released by the Tippecanoe County coroner, was declared dead at the scene. "The passenger's name will be released after her family is notified," Tippecanoe County Coroner Carrie Costello conveyed in a statement obtained by the Journal & Courier. A forensic autopsy is scheduled to further investigate the cause of death.
After being released from the hospital, state police arrested Monserrat-Griman on several preliminary charges. These charges include operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing death, neglect of a dependent causing bodily injury, and operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a minor, as detailed by FOX59. Monserrat-Griman was taken to the Tippecanoe County Jail where records indicated he remained incarcerated late yesterday afternoon.
Following the crash, the Indiana Department of Transportation issued an alert, closing two right northbound lanes of I-65, with traffic managing to pass through on the left shoulder.
