A woman who is accused of causing an Interstate 75 crash that killed three people in Lexington is now facing multiple murder charges, according to police.
Tammy Rodriguez, 42, of Louisville has been charged with three counts of murder, a count of first-degree assault and a count of wanton endangerment, according to Lexington police.
The night of Sept. 4, Rodriguez was being chased by police out of Clark County when she made a sudden U-turn and began driving the wrong way on the interstate, Winchester police Capt. James Hall said after the crash. Winchester police who were following Rodriguez were driving up to 90 mph, but she was outrunning all of them, he said.
After making the U-turn on I-75, Rodriguez drove past at least one vehicle and drove the wrong direction for almost a mile before her Ford-150 struck two other vehicles, according to Lexington police.
“Because of her actions, Rodriguez is accused of exhibiting extreme indifference to the value of human life and wantonly engaging in conduct which resulted in the deaths of three people,” Lexington police said in a news release on Thursday.
Rodriguez’s sister, Debbie Lynn Bevins, 35, of Pikeville, died at the scene of the crash, according to the Fayette County coroner. Sisters in a Chevrolet sonic were also killed when Rodriguez’s truck allegedly hit them. They were Taylor Blevins, 26, and Caitlyn Bailey, 20, both of Georgetown, formerly of Magoffin County.
The night of the crash, Rodriguez was charged with driving under the influence and driving without an operator’s license.
She also faces two counts of wanton endangerment in Clark County in connection with the chase.
Before the September crash, Rodriguez had been convicted of drunken driving four times in Pike and Shelby counties, according to court records. She had other prior convictions of endangering the welfare of a minor, public intoxication, prostitution, shoplifting and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Rodriguez is being held in the Fayette County jail.
By Morgan Eads
Lexington Herald-Leader
