NASHVILLE – On Sunday, March 26th, at approximately 3:15 a.m. Brown County Dispatch received a 911 call reporting a vehicle that had crashed through the front entrance of the Speedway Gas Station at 279 South Van Buren Street.
The caller, which was a Speedway employee, informed dispatch that the vehicle was sitting inside the store and was on fire.
An officer with the Nashville Police Department and deputies from the Brown County Sheriff’s Office arrived on the scene approximately a minute later. A Nashville Police Department officer found the vehicle inside the front entrance. The vehicle caused extensive damage to the entryway of the building. He also observed an article of clothing on top of the car which was on fire.
While going to the rear of his police vehicle to retrieve a fire extinguisher the Speedway employee was already extinguishing the flames.
Officers entered the building and informed the employee and a female to exit.
A Brown County Sheriff’s deputy began speaking with the female, which was later identified as the driver of the vehicle. That female’s identity will not be released at this time.
A short time later the Nashville Volunteer Fire Department arrived on the scene and began locating and assisting with shutting off all surrounding utilities including gas, water, and electricity.
The female driver told police she was suffering from a mental health crisis and she intentionally started a fire inside of her vehicle, she then backed her vehicle into a fuel pump before driving it through the main entrance of the building.
The female agreed to be transported to the hospital for a mental health evaluation and treatment. A Brown County Deputy rode with the female in an IU LifeLine ambulance to a neighboring county hospital. While on the way to the hospital, the female informed the deputy that prior to the accident she had consumed an unknown amount of prescription medication that was prescribed to her.
Later an a search warrant was granted for by Brown County Circuit Court for a toxicology test on the female.
According to police, after the accident the main focus was to provide the female with the appropriate Mental Health Treatment, however, this is still an ongoing investigation with multiple charges pending.
The Nashville Police Department would like to thank the Brown County Sheriff’s Office, Brown County Dispatch, and the Nashville Volunteer Fire Department for their assistance with the incident.
