LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A southern Indiana grandmother is charged with a drunk diving crash that killed her 3-year-old grandson.
Lisa Ely, 45, was arrested by Jennings County Sheriff's Office on Monday. Police said the crash happened on Oct. 28 when Ely was driving a 2016 Nissan Rogue. The car hit a culvert and went airborne, then slammed into a tree.
Her grandson, Thomas Ely, died in the crash. Ely's two other grandchildren, a 7-year-old and 9-year-old, suffered serious injuries.
Court documents said Ely thought she only had two glasses of wine but told police she must have had more than that. Police said they found an empty small bottle of Fireball whiskey on the front passenger floorboard.
Ely was driving above the speed limit and her blood alcohol level was above the legal limit, according to police.
Court records show she was on the phone with a man who heard the crash and the kids screaming. Ely originally told investigators that she saw a deer and overcorrected. She told police the last time she overcorrected the car and crashed is when she saw a dog run out onto the road.
Investigators said while the kids were wearing seatbelts, they were not properly restrained — in booster seats, for example — for their size. Police said the outcome could've changed if the kids were properly restrained.
According to court documents, when interviewed by police, Ely said her babies are her life and she knew she messed up.
Ely is charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in death, neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury, causing death when operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and causing serious bodily injury when operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.
She is behind bars in the Jennings County Jail.
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