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Jasonville man sentenced in Owen County for causing fatal crash
Cory Robert Deschamp, 23, of Jasonville, plead guilty and was sentenced Tuesday in Owen Circuit Court for operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing a tragic crash last September that claimed the life of a Terre Haute man and critically injured a passenger.
The head-on crash occurred early on a Sunday morning about a mile south of Spencer on State Road 67/US 231 on September 15, 2013.
Keith Fennell, 37, Terre Haute, the driver of a 1995 Plymouth van, was pronounced dead on the scene. His wife, Jennifer Fennell, 41, a passenger in the van, was airlifted by an Air Evac air ambulance to IU Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. She suffered life-threatening injuries and was listed in critical condition the day after the crash.
Deschamp, the driver of the vehicle that hit the Fennell van, was taken into custody and booked in to the Owen County Security Center.
The Fennells were northbound on the highway just after 6 a.m. when the 2001 Chevrolet pickup truck driven by Deschamp, who was southbound, veered, crossed over the center line and hit the Fennell van head-on.
Emergency personnel responding included the Owen County Rescue Team, Owen County Volunteer Fire Department and Owen County EMS in addition to Air Evac and officers from the Owen County Sheriff's Department, Spencer Police Department and Indiana State Police.
The Fennels were trapped in the wreckage and had to be extricated by emergency personnel. First responders were unable to save Fennel and he died on the scene.
Deschamp did not receive significant injuries and refused medical treatment. Officers conducted filed sobriety tests and Deschamp was transported to IU Health Bloomington Hospital for a blood draw. His blood-alcohol level was reported to be .09.
Deschamp allegedly told officers he was on his way home after a night of drinking in Bloomington and fell asleep at the wheel.
During the initial hearing, Deschamp was charged with: Causing death when operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, a class C felony; causing serious bodily injury when operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, a class D felony; and operation of a motor vehicle without financial responsibility, a class A infraction.
Deschamp's bond was set at $20,000 cash or surety. He posted a surety bond and was released from jail while the crash continued to be investigated by law enforcement agencies in Owen County assisted by ISP accident reconstructionists, Troopers John Yung and Greg Day.
When the case wrapped up this week, the criminal counts filed against Deschamp were not reduced and he plead guilty to both felonies.
During his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, Owen Circuit Judge Lori Thatcher Quillen ordered Deschamp to serve six years in the Indiana Department of Corrections with two years fully executed and four years suspended. He will serve the four suspended years on probation and he must attend alcohol counseling and pay restitution. His driver's license has been suspended but when it is reinstated, the judge ordered that a device be installed in his vehicle that will prevent him from operating the vehicle if he has alcohol in his system.