An Illinois man has been sentenced to 13 years after a 2024 crash on the Highway 54 bypass near Mexico, Missouri, killed a 70-year-old Columbia woman and sent both vehicles up in flames. Tyler W. Herman, of Bloomington, Illinois, was driving while intoxicated when his pickup truck slammed into an SUV driven by Mary L. Piper, authorities say.
According to KOMU 8, Herman was sentenced to 13 years in connection with the deadly DWI crash in Audrain County.
A Deadly Afternoon on the Bypass
The crash happened the afternoon of Aug. 30, 2024, on the Highway 54 bypass in Mexico, Missouri. ABC17 News reported that police said Herman was driving in the southbound lane when his vehicle struck Piper's SUV. Witnesses said he appeared to be trying to pass other cars by driving in the northbound lane. ABC17 News reported that police placed the crash at the bypass about a half-mile south of E. Liberty Road.
Witnesses told investigators it looked like Herman was attempting to pass other cars by driving in the northbound lane, per the same account. The station's report also describes Herman telling police he had been drinking a couple of hours before the crash.
Piper, identified as the 70-year-old driver of the SUV, was from Columbia. According to KOMU 8's reporting, she died at the scene. Both vehicles caught fire in the collision, and separate coverage from ABC17 News noted that Piper died before first responders arrived at the scene.
Charges Filed After Hospital Release
Herman was originally charged with DWI causing another person's death, armed criminal action, and a misdemeanor count of careless and imprudent driving involving an accident, ABC17 News reported. WGLT reported that Herman was arrested in Bloomington after being released from a Columbia, Missouri, hospital following the crash. The station also reported that Herman was driving the pickup south around 3:15 p.m. when it collided with Piper's SUV as he tried to pass other vehicles in the northbound lane of U.S. Route 54.
The case drew attention in Herman's home community as well. The Pantagraph covered the case at the charging stage, reporting that the Bloomington man faced DUI charges in Missouri after police said he was involved in a crash that killed the 70-year-old woman.
Court records in Missouri, including docket entries, parties, and judgments, are generally accessible to the public through Case.net, the state's online case management system, though only records deemed public under Missouri law can be viewed there.
