FORT WAYNE — A Winona Lake woman who caused a fatal crash along U.S. 30 near Goshen Road in September was sentenced Monday, but she’ll avoid any prison time.

Stacey R. Motz-Altman, 38, was sentenced Monday in Allen Superior Court to 8 1/2 years on active adult probation for felony charges of Reckless Homicide and Criminal Recklessness committed with a Deadly Weapon related to the Sept. 8 crash along the eastbound lanes of U.S. 30 near the Goshen Road interchange that killed 54-year-old Luann Simon. Motz-Altman pleaded guilty but mentally ill to the charges through a plea deal with Allen County prosecutors last month.

Police and medics were called after 11 p.m. that September night to the eastbound lanes of U.S. 30 on a report of a crash. There, police found a black 2015 Infiniti Q50 sedan and 2012 Chevrolet Impala badly wrecked.

According to a probable cause affidavit, Motz-Altman had been speeding her Infiniti 142 mph when she rear-ended Simon’s Impala. The posted speed limit was 50 mph, the affidavit said.

The impact shoved the Impala into the rear of a semi tractor-trailer, and investigators said it may have been dragged underneath the semi’s trailer for several hundred feet before coming to a stop. Simon was left pinned inside her vehicle. She was pulled from the wreckage by Fort Wayne firefighters and taken to a hospital in critical condition where she would later die.

Motz-Altman had no drugs or alcohol in her system at the time of the crash, the affidavit said. She told an officer she’d been ill with food poisoning and was driving to Fort Wayne to get something to eat, the affidavit said.

Motz-Altman said the Impala had slowed down in front of her vehicle, which caused the crash, according to the affidavit.

In court Monday, Casey Richardson, Luann Simon’s niece, called Motz-Alman a danger to society.

“You should not be driving for the rest of your life. You are a risk to yourself and all of society when you get behind the wheel. I believe God wants you to get better. I don’t want another family to feel like we do because of what you did.”

The principal of Arcola Elementary School, where Luann Simon was a custodian, told the court that Luann had a connection with the “school family.”

“Her (Luann’s) heart was that of a servant,” said Kathleen Perfect. “In our school family, each of us had our own special connection with Luann.”

Rick Meyers, Luann Simon’s brother-in-law, told the court that Luann was the 13th of 16 children, and said that she loved to bake cakes.

“She made the best carrot cake I’ve ever tasted,” Rick Meyes recalled. “We miss her very much. We forgive you because Jesus told us to pray. Lu would want you to continue to get help with your illness.”

Motz-Altman kept her head down while several of Simon’s family members and friends spoke. She offered a brief apology.

“I am very, very, very sorry and I wish it never happened,” said Motz-Altman. “I’m sorry.”

Motz-Altman must serve the first year of her sentence on home detention with electronic monitoring, and she cannot operate a motor vehicle for any reason at any time. She was also ordered to continue psychiatric treatment for diagnosed mental illnesses, which includes taking prescribed medication, and must pay $29,187.39 to Dennis Simon in restitution.

Source: WANE