By Sophia Voravong

3, plus unborn child, died in Sept. crash

A Crawfordsville teenager who caused a two-vehicle crash last September that killed his two passengers and another motorist had traces of marijuana in his system, according to court documents.

Tyler R. Sutton, 17, was charged this month in Tippecanoe Superior Court 3 with 11 felonies, including six counts of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, three counts of reckless homicide, and feticide -- the intentional termination of a pregnancy.

One of his passengers, Megan M. Hinds, 15, was 24 weeks pregnant at the time of the wreck near Stockwell.

Sutton is scheduled to appear before Judge Loretta Rush next month in juvenile court. Tippecanoe County prosecutor Pat Harrington said Wednesday that his office is requesting the case be waived to adult court.

Sutton, a student at North Montgomery High School, will be 18 in May.

Sutton is accused of running a stop sign at County Road 700 East and Indiana 28 East on Sept. 8, 2007, striking a vehicle driven by Marilyn E. Gardner, 78, of Indianapolis.

She later died at a Lafayette hospital.

Sutton's passengers and North Montgomery classmates, Hinds and Jennah S. Smith, 15, died at the scene.

Investigators with the Tippecanoe County Fatal Alcohol Crash Team determined that Sutton, who was driving south on County Road 700 East, had been traveling 66 mph at the time of impact and that he ran a stop sign. The posted speed limit is 55 mph.

Gardner's Ford Taurus, which was traveling east on Indiana 28, hit Sutton's Dodge Stratus on the passenger side.

According to a probable cause affidavit filed with the charges, a toxicology test returned in November showed that marijuana metabolites were present in Sutton's blood. Another toxicology test returned this month showed the presence of marijuana metabolites in Sutton's urine.

In the days following the crash, 1,400 people signed a petition asking the Tippecanoe County commissioners to install flashing lights and add rumble strips at 700 East and Indiana 28 East.

Commissioner KD Benson said Wednesday that no changes have been made to the intersection.