2 women arrested for leaving the scene of a deadly crash in Putnam County

PUTNAM COUNTY, Ind. — Two Putnam County women have been arrested after police say they fled the scene of a fatal crash.

According to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department, first responders and police found an unconscious male, later identified as Bobby McIntosh of Greencastle, with serious bodily injuries near the 3000 block of West U.S. 36. McIntosh later died on Aug. 2 due to his injuries.

Court documents indicate that no vehicle was found on the scene. Authorities noted that other than road rash and scrapes to his legs, the majority of the injuries McIntosh sustained were to his skull. Police believed a motor vehicle collision did not seem likely.

As the investigation unfolded, police received information from a person who said McIntosh had told them he was waiting for a ride from a friend from a McDonald’s in the area. Police then obtained camera footage from the fast food restaurant, which appeared to show Mcintosh getting into a gold Buick LeSabre.

Court documents indicate that police were able to track down the vehicle through its license plate and noticed it had a spare “donut” tire on the driver’s side rear axle.

The vehicle was located in the 3000 block of Van Bibber Lake Estates. This eventually led police to find 35-year-old Stacey Northington at the residence. She told police that she had driven to Greencastle High School on July 31 and picked up someone at McDonald’s, court documents said.

When police reviewed camera footage, they saw the vehicle pulling into the high school, and a passenger was seen. This woman was later identified as 33-year-old Leanna Boles.

In an interview with the police, Northington and Boles said that after they picked up McIntosh from McDonald’s, they blew a tire on U.S. Highway 231 and County Road 500 North. They claimed that while they were changing it, McIntosh walked off and they didn’t see him again.

During their investigation, including sifting through numerous files of camera footage and interviews, police found that the spare tire was already on the vehicle before July 31, contradicting Northington and Boles’ provided timeline.

Court documents highlighted another interview with an individual who disclosed that Northington and Boles allegedly told them that a guy had jumped out of their vehicle, and that they had refused to stop and check on him.

Police discovered that the vehicle reportedly traveled from the McDonald’s in Greencastle to their destination in Parke County in 22 minutes. This made Northington and Boles’ claim of stopping to replace a tire “impossible”, court documents said.

Due to the witnesses’ statement and the camera footage not reportedly lining up with Northington and Boles’ provided statements, police determined enough probable cause existed to arrest them.

Court documents stated that since Northington was the driver, it was her legal responsibility to stop and report the accident.

On Thursday, Northington was arrested and preliminarily charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, which is a level 4 felony. Meanwhile, Boles was arrested and preliminarily charged with assisting a criminal, which is a level 6 felony.