A five-year-old boy and his great-grandfather were killed after they were struck by an out-of-control driver who crashed through the family’s Indiana home last week.
Homeowner Jake Michael, 74, and great-grandson Jenson Reynolds were struck by the car driven by Brandi Bare, who was allegedly under the influence, when she drove through the backyard into the house and came out through the front before hitting a parked vehicle on Thursday, Montpelier police said.
The two were pronounced dead at the scene. Reynolds’ body was trapped under Bare’s vehicle when officers arrived, according to WTHR 13, citing police and court documents.
The boy’s father, Jerod Reynolds, and his 18-month-old daughter were both injured. They were airlifted to Indianapolis hospitals.
“It was like a movie, where you see glass and things are shattering and you’ve got the dust and you’re looking around and there’s bodies, and it’s like I’ll never forget that. That will never be out of my mind,” said Lisa Simmons, the boy’s grandmother who was in the house, according to WTHR.
Family members were prepping for a yard sale before the crash Thursday evening.
“They hadn’t been there 10 minutes when it happened. They were actually on the porch,” Jeff Strait, the boy’s maternal grandfather, told WTHR. “She drove through the back of the house, through the house, out the front and hit everybody, then got out of her car and took off. That’s the whole problem. She’s a flight risk.”
Bare, 46, was arrested at the scene and put into a police car, but escaped after she was able to get her left wrist out of the handcuff, Montpelier Chief of Police Chris Snyder told WTHR 13. She made a run for it, but only got a few yards before she was caught.
She’s facing two counts of charges of driving drunk causing death, two counts of reckless homicide and two counts of driving drunk causing serious bodily injury, all felonies, as well as resisting law enforcement,
At one point during a blood draw of the perp, an officer wrote she said, “she was sorry and did not mean to do it,” according to WTHR 13.
Bare had at least two other instances where she was accused of driving under the influence, WTHR 13 reported, with her license reinstated in 2020.
Jenson Reynolds had graduated pre-school just weeks before his life was cut tragically short, according to WTHR 13.
“He was so excited for kindergarten. He’s so smart, so funny, so loving. Sweet,” Jerod Reynolds told the outlet.