2 arrested on charges related to crash that killed Circle City Raceway driver
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Two drivers who were involved in an August crash that killed a Circle City Raceway driver were arrested on charges related to the crash, Indiana State Police said Wednesday.
Austin Cooper, 22, of Austin, Indiana, was arrested on charges of causing death by operating a motor vehicle with a controlled substance and reckless homicides, and Jacob Kelly, 31, of Indianapolis, was arrested on charges of reckless homicide.
Indiana State Police troopers were called about 11:30 a.m. on Aug. 18 to the crash of the SUV and a car about 3 miles north of the State Road 250 exit for Uniontown. That’s south of Seymour.
Investigators say that a black 2016 Chevrolet Malibu being driven by Cooper was northbound in the right lane as the SUV, and a white 2018 GMC Terrain being driven by Kelly was also northbound in the left lane.
Video footage captured by another vehicle showed that the two drivers began accelerating rapidly and refused to let each other pass. Cooper’s vehicle then began to change lanes into the path of Kelly’s vehicle.
Kelly lost control of his vehicle and spun, which resulted in both vehicles colliding in the middle of the northbound lanes. Kelly’s vehicle rolled and caused his passenger, Ashlea Albertson, 24, of Greenfield, to be ejected from the vehicle.
Albertson was flown to the UofL Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky, for treatment and later died from her injuries. Circle City Raceway in Indianapolis posted on social media that Albertson was a regular at the dirt track and would be missed by her racing family and friends. She was a racer for Tony Stewart’s team.
Kelly was also flown to the hospital for treatment. His injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.
Cooper and a juvenile passenger, who was not identified in the release, were taken to Schneck Medical Center in Seymour for treatment of injuries not believed to be life-threatening.
Kelly and Cooper completed toxicology exams, and it was determined that Cooper had THC in his system when the crash occurred.
THC is the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis.
Kelly was arrested on Monday without incident in Indianapolis, and Cooper turned himself in the following day at the Jackson County jail in Brownstown, Indiana.
Both men will soon have initial appearances in the Jackson Circuit Court.