A Ball State University student died early Monday morning when the vehicle she was driving collided with a sport utility vehicle and a semi-trailer while driving the wrong direction on Interstate 69.
Andrea Tallant, a second-year student with freshman standing, hit a 2000 Explorer and subsequently a semitrailer at about 1:26 a.m. while driving north in the southbound lanes of I-69, according to police and Ball State officials.
The driver of the Explorer, Johnathon Brown, 27, of Indianapolis, was injured and taken to Ball Memorial Hospital and transferred to a hospital in Indianapolis, Lt. Arlan Johnson from the Delaware County Sheriff's Office said. His condition is unknown.
At 1:15 a.m., police began receiving phone calls from a Ricker's convience store reporting a possible impaired driver, Johnson said. A second call reported the driver had left and was driving north on I-69 in the wrong lanes, he said. The caller appeared to be following the driver and was able to give a play-by-play, Johnson said. Delaware County Coroner Jim Clevenger said police were actively looking for the car and erractic driving.
Johnson said Tallant entered I-69 at the State Road 332 exit and drove approximately four miles in the wrong direction before she was hit.
There were no skid marks from either the Explorer or the semitrailer, so Tallant might not have had her headlights on, he said. The police will continue to investigate the accident, Johnson said.
Clevenger said the impact killed Tallant. Johnson said whether alcohol played a role in the accident might not be determined for several weeks. Although Tallant was reported to be impaired, no one said they smelled alcohol on her, he said.
"There are conflicting reports," Johnson said. "Obviously something was wrong."
Clevenger said why Tallant was driving the wrong direction and why she was driving north of Muncie was unknown. She was from Carmel, and her parents said she was very familiar with the drive from Indianapolis to Muncie, Clevenger said.
"The question is why she was out there at that time in the morning," he said. "She has no business that they can think of that would have taken her north of the area."
Johnson said I-69 was closed for approximately four hours and opened at about 5:15 a.m.
Stay with DN|Online for updates and read Tuesday's Daily News for more.
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