A 19-year-old Wisconsin woman was killed while driving four friends home on New Year's Eve when she was struck by a friend in another car and dragged for at least three miles, authorities said.
The victim, identified by her family as Taya Grimes, was thrown onto Highway 45 when her car crashed into a culvert and overturned several times around 1 a.m., officials said. told Fox 6 Now Suspected of a drunken accident.
At least three of the four passengers, ranging in age from 16 to 21, were also thrown from the vehicle, the report said. One of them, a 17-year-old boy, was seriously injured.
After Grimes was thrown onto the road, he was struck by a car driven by a 19-year-old friend who was a passenger, and continued to drive for miles, according to the Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Office.
Investigators using thermal imaging equipment reportedly eventually found her body about three miles from the scene of the first crash, but the second vehicle that struck her was still nearby. It was said that it remained stuck.
Grimes' mother told Fox 6 Now that she was going through “a pain I wouldn't wish on anyone.”
Investigators told local media that alcohol appears to have played a role in the fatal crash.
The second driver, identified only as a 19-year-old man from West Bend, was later arrested on suspicion of leaving the scene of the crash before police arrived and was later arrested on suspicion of fatal hit-and-run.
One of Grimes' passengers, a 17-year-old boy, was hospitalized in serious condition. The other two, a 16-year-old and a 21-year-old, were taken to area hospitals with serious injuries. The 17-year-old boy suffered minor injuries and was taken to the hospital.
Grimes' sister, Tj Grimes, has started an online fundraiser to help the family pay for the young woman's memorial service and cremation.
“Taya brought light to people's darkest days with her cheerful personality and sense of humor,” the sisters wrote. “She loved car scenes, sunsets, and spending time with her friends.”
