Morgantown, Indiana – A Morgantown woman was sentenced this week for her involvement in a drunk driving accident that resulted in the death of a Bargersville man. Tina M. Isley, 49, was sentenced to six years on a charge of operating while intoxicated causing death, a Level 4 felony, for her role in an accident that took the life of Robert T. Shirley on Jan. 11, 2020.
Shirley was pronounced dead at the scene after Isley struck his pickup truck head-on. He was on his way to work in Indianapolis, according to a Johnson County Sheriff’s Office news release. Deputies said Isley was traveling west on Division Road near State Road 135 when she crossed the center line and struck Shirley, who was traveling in the opposite direction. Isley was driving a Jeep Wrangler, according to court documents filed in Johnson County Circuit Court.
A blood test showed her blood alcohol content immediately following the accident was .144%, court documents say. The legal limit to drive is .08%. Isley was interviewed at an Indianapolis hospital where she was being treated for a broken ankle. She claimed that a friend was initially driving her vehicle and dropped off other friends, but she took over once everyone had been dropped off. She admitted to having five beers, with her last drink being roughly 30 minutes before the accident, according to court documents.
Isley’s sentence includes two years of incarceration and four years of probation, with credit for one day of jail time previously served. She also must pay a fee for a traffic offense and more than $6,200 in restitution to Shirley’s immediate family. Additionally, her license was suspended for 910 days.
Despite an appeal process that lasted over a year, the sentence was issued on Monday, and a plea agreement for the case was filed in November. Lance Hamner, Johnson County prosecutor, stated that operating while intoxicated causing death should carry both a higher penalty and mandatory jail time. However, as long as this charge remains a Level 4 felony under Indiana law, this sentence is what prosecutors are bound by. Although aggravating factors could have led to a lengthier sentence, they were not present in this case.