BEDFORD— On June 12 at 9:43 p.m., Bedford Police Officer Taylor Daugherty responded to 21st and M Streets after off–duty Officer Landon Jones requested assistance and EMS for a vehicle accident with possible injuries.
Officer Jones said the vehicle was traveling at an estimated speed of 90 miles per hour when it left the roadway.
When other officers arrived on the scene, they found the driver, 31-year-old Julia Miller of Bedford, being verbally abusive toward Officer Jones.
Officers warned Miller about her behavior numerous times. She was detained and placed in a police vehicle.
Miller was the driver of a 2015 red Jeep Renegade, which had three children in it. Police say Miller smelled of alcohol. Officer Jones said Miller was traveling north in the left lane of Mitchell Road at an extremely high speed. The vehicle veered right, narrowly missing Officer Jone’s police car, and struck the curb and guard rail just north of 22nd Street. The Jeep continued traveling north off the road and stopped south of 21st Street.
Miller was asked how much she had to drink and told police she had two shots with a Coke earlier.
She submitted to a preliminary breath test and had a blood-alcohol level of 0.199 percent.
When asked why she was driving so recklessly, she told police she had left home and was headed to Mitchell when the kids told her the dog had jumped out of the car window. She began heading back home to locate the dog. She said she was speeding when the vehicle lost traction when approaching 22nd Street, and she lost control of the Jeep.
Witnesses told police they saw the driver of the red Jeep traveling north near the dealerships on Dixie Highway at an excessive speed. The vehicle continued on Mitchell Road.
The Department of Child Services was contacted.
Miller first agreed to a blood drive but then refused. Circuit Court Judge Nathan Nikirk granted a search warrant for a blood draw. Miller was transported to IU Health Bedford Hospital.
While at the hospital, Miller admitted she was driving at a high rate of speed and had two shots of an alcoholic beverage with a Coke that was located in the Jeep.
Miller was detained on charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, OWI endangerment, three counts of neglect of a dependent, and disorderly conduct.
Stone City Collision towed the vehicle.
