FAYETTE COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — The suspect in a interstate crash that killed three people, including her own sister, entered a not guilty plea.
Tammy Rodriguez could not be seen in court on the video arraignment as she is in a wheelchair.
Authorities say 42-year-old Rodriguez was drunk last week when she led Winchester police on a chase that ended in a deadly wrong-way crash on Interstate Highway 75 in Lexington.
Lexington police spokeswoman Brenna Angel said Rodriguez was driving a Ford F-150 truck south in the northbound lanes of I-75 after making a U-turn when she struck two vehicles.
Angel said the truck first hit a Chevrolet Sonic head-on, then slammed into a Jeep Cherokee causing the jeep to flip.
Officials with the Fayette County Coroner's office said people in the Sonic -- 26-year-old driver Taylor Blevins and 20-year-old passenger Caitlyn Bailey -- were killed. Rodriguez's own sister who was a passenger in her truck -- 35-year-old Debbie Lynn Bevins of Pikeville -- also was pronounced dead at the scene.
Rodriguez and two others were injured.
Court records show Rodriguez is facing her fifth DUI charge. More charges are expected. Her bond on the DUI charge is set at $5,000 full cash.
