ISP: Unconscious driver, passenger found in vehicle stopped on I-70

WAYNE COUNTY, Ind. — Indiana State Police found two people unconscious inside a vehicle stopped on the interstate in Wayne County last week.

According to a press release, Wayne County dispatchers received a report about a crash that occurred on Interstate 70 near Richmond around 1:30 a.m. on Aug. 7. Reports indicated that the crash involved a blue sedan that had been driven into a guardrail.

A state trooper responded to the scene and found the sedan in question on I-70 westbound near mile marker 146. As the trooper approached the vehicle, which was stopped in the roadway, he realized its driver and passenger were both unconscious.

As the trooper began to check on the car’s occupants, he located a small plastic bag with a white powdery substance sitting between the passenger’s legs. ISP indicated that the substance — which investigators suspected was fentanyl — was seized during the traffic stop and sent to a lab for analysis.

The trooper who responded to the crash got both of the blue sedan’s occupants out of the vehicle. Once he did that, he conducted a field sobriety test with the driver, who was later identified as Justin C. Dawson of Connersville.

ISP confirmed that Dawson was ultimately arrested during the stop. He faces the following preliminary charges:

• Possession of a narcotic drug — a Level 4 Felony
• Possession of a controlled substance — a Class A Misdemeanor
• Endangering others by operating while intoxicated — a Class A Misdemeanor
• Operating a vehicle while under the influence of a controlled substance — Class C Misdemeanor

The blue sedan’s passenger was also arrested. Roxanne N. Steele — a 43-year-old from Connersville — has been preliminarily charged with the following:

• Possession of a narcotic drug — a Level 4 Felony
• Possession of a controlled substance — a Class A Misdemeanor

Steele and Dawson were booked into the Wayne County Jail after the traffic stop. As of this article’s publication, no additional information about Dawson and Steele’s cases has been made available.