A motorist was under the influence of six drugs and was answering her cellphone at the time of a September crash that killed a University of Georgia graduate student, according to an indictment.
Whitney Baker Howard, 31, is charged with two counts of first-degree homicide by vehicle and other offenses in connection with the wreck killed Ashley Block, 25, and injured two cycling companions, according to the indictment. The indictment was handed down Dec. 6 in Athens-Clarke County Superior Court.
According to the 11-count indictment, Howard was under the influence of methadone and other drugs. She was also charged with endangering her daughter, who was a passenger in the vehicle at the time of the crash.
Block and the other cyclists were on a group ride, officials said. Police said when Howard moved to answer her phone, her Jeep swerved to the other side of the road, where it struck the cyclists head-on.
Block, a Minnesota native who was a Ph.D. student in anthropology, died at the scene. Another cyclist, Mitchell Enfinger, suffered brain and spinal injuries, according to the indictment.
Howard was arrested at the scene and has been held without bail at the Clarke County Jail. She was arrested twice on DUI drugs chargesbefore the fatal crash, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported.
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