Dubois County adds charges in fatal Jasper crash case

Dubois County prosecutors have turned the May 20 Jasper crash into a far broader felony case, adding eight charges against Nathan P. Simpson, 37, of Evanston, after the wreck that killed Dana Strohmeyer, 36, and injured two juvenile passengers in her vehicle.

Deputies were called to State Road 64 west of State Road 161 at about 6:04 p.m. that evening. Preliminary findings from Indiana State Police said Simpson’s Ford pickup crossed the center line into oncoming traffic before colliding with Strohmeyer’s vehicle, which then left the road and went down an embankment. Responding crews found Simpson’s white Ford pickup sideways in the roadway. Strohmeyer died from her injuries, and the two children riding with her were taken to Deaconess Memorial Hospital for treatment.

Dana Rae Strohmeyer was originally from Velpen and lived in Jasper. Her obituary said she was born June 19, 1989, in Jasper, worked for Best Home Furnishings and attended Redemption Christian Church.

The first formal charge after the crash was operating a vehicle while intoxicated resulting in death, a Level 4 felony. The new filing goes much further, adding counts for causing death while operating a vehicle with a Schedule I or II controlled substance in the blood, causing death while operating while intoxicated, multiple counts tied to serious bodily injury while under the influence or with controlled substances in the blood, operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person and a habitual offender notice. Deputies performed standardized field sobriety tests on Simpson at the scene and later obtained blood and urine samples under warrant.

That expansion changes the case from a single fatal-crash prosecution into one that also alleges separate harm to the other people in the vehicle and a more detailed impairment theory. Under Indiana law, felony defendants can face habitual-offender sentencing enhancements when prior convictions qualify, and the new counts substantially increase Simpson’s exposure if prosecutors prove them. The case now moves deeper into formal court proceedings in Dubois County as investigators, the Dubois County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and the defense confront the crash reconstruction, toxicology evidence and the injuries suffered by the Strohmeyer family. Authorities have asked witnesses to contact the Dubois County Sheriff’s Office.