A man in Muncie, Indiana, is accused of trying to run over a man with his car while drunk. Believing the individual was having an affair with his wife, the driver ended up crashing into a homeless shelter instead.
According to court documents reviewed by FOX59, the incident occurred on Tuesday, June 30. At around 7:27 p.m., the Muncie Police Department (MPD) received reports of a crash at The Hub homeless shelter.¡
Officers responded to the 300 block of W 8 St. and found the side of the shelter in shambles. Someone had crashed into it, and, apparently, had done so in a deliberate act.
Agents also learned on their way to the homeless shelter that the driver had fled the scene, the documents said. Therefore, they began investigating the incident and looking for the fleeing vehicle.
Man Drives by Officers
The search for the driver didn’t last long. While they were looking for the man, he drove directly by responding officers, sealing his fate.
Agents with the MPD conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle previously reported and recently spotted. The driver complied, and the officers approached the driver.
The man behind the wheel was later identified as 61-year-old Scott Jewell. Officers would then come across multiple signs that the man was intoxicated during the traffic stop and the previous crash into the homeless shelter, documents said.
Findings, Potential Love Triangle
Allegedly, officers located various empty alcohol cans inside Jewell’s car. Police also said that a strong odor of alcohol coming from the 61-year-old man was also detected.
Then, authorities conducted a preliminary breathalyzer test on Jewell. The results showed that the man blew a 0.17. For reference, Indiana’s legal limit is 0.08, making his BAC more than double that amount.
Court documents then detailed that the driver had attempted to run over another man at the scene of the crash. Reportedly, Jewell believed that this individual was having an affair with his wife. In the end, footage of the incident showed that the now-arrested man failed to run over his target and instead crashed into the side of the homeless shelter.
Arrested and Charged
Scott Jewell now faces multiple serious preliminary charges. These include leaving the scene with serious injury, OWI accident with serious injury, and criminal recklessness aggressive driving with injury.
If convicted of his charges, Jewell faces decades behind prison. The leaving the scene charge alone could land him behind bars for up to 16 years.
Jewell’s wife ended up sustaining serious injuries in her left arm. As reported by WTHR, she was inside Jewell’s vehicle at the time of the crash. Her injuries explain the severity of Jewell’s charges.