Accused driver in fatal wrong-way I-65 crash could get HIP if he posts $250,000 bond

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The driver charged with murder in a wrong-way crash on Interstate 65 last Sunday could be placed on home incarceration, but he'll have to pay a $250,000 bond first.

Thomas Catalina, 43, appeared before Jefferson Circuit Judge Anne Delahanty Thursday morning, where a not-guilty plea was entered on his behalf on charges of Murder, fourth-degree Assault, Operating a Motor Vehicle While Under the Influence of Alcohol or Controlled Substances and Failure of a Vehicle Owner to Maintain Required Insurance.

Catalina is charged in connection with the Sunday afternoon crash in the southbound lanes of I-65 near the Watterson Expressway that killed 26-year-old Rajnu H. Masoud of Bowling Green.

Catalina appeared in court in a wheelchair with one of his legs bandaged. Scrapes and scratches were visible on his knuckles, and there were bandages around one of his wrists.

Judge Delahanty denied a request by the County Attorney's Office to raise Catalina's bond to $500,000. Instead, she kept it at $250,000, allowing home incarceration if his bond is posted.

Catalina was also ordered to have no contact with any of the surviving victims -- and he was forbidden to drive.

According to an arrest report, witnesses told police that Catalina was driving his pickup truck more than 100 mph Sunday afternoon, just before the crash. Police said he was driving northbound in the southbound lanes of traffic on I-65 when he hit "several vehicles."

Catalina's pickup truck overturned and burst into flames during the incident.

Masoud was in one of the vehicles Catalina hit and was pronounced dead at the scene. Two other victims were taken to University of Louisville Hospital with injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening.

When officers approached Catalina, he "appeared to be impaired," according to an arrest report. He was taken to UofL Hospital for treatment of his injuries.

Catalina allegedly told an officer after the crash that he had used methamphetamine "several days ago," but then added that it "may have been sooner." According to the arrest report, he also told officers that he had been driving the truck as fast as it would go, and that drugs "had messed him up."

Blood and urine samples were taken from Catalina and sent to the Kentucky State Police Laboratory for testing.