ANDERSON, Ind. (AP) - Prosecutors say blood tests have found an off-duty central Indiana police officer was under the influence of an anti-anxiety drug and a painkiller when his SUV plowed into a car, killing a man and injuring his pregnant wife.
Suspended Edgewood Officer James Foutch, 41, faces driving while intoxicated causing death and other charges from the April 6 crash that killed 23-year-old Jesse Sperry. His wife, 22-year-old Rebecca Sperry, was airlifted to an Indianapolis hospital where she gave birth to a daughter by emergency C-section later that day. The woman and child have since been released.
Madison County court documents filed Monday show that Foutch’s blood tested positive for the anti-anxiety drug Xanax and the painkiller hydrocodone, The Herald Bulletin reports (https://bit.ly/1m5VkSI).
Foutch does not have a published telephone number and court records do not list a defense attorney. His initial court hearing is scheduled for May 19.
Foutch is a 12-year veteran of the police department in Edgewood, a community about 30 miles northeast of Indianapolis.
Information from the SUV indicated Foutch was traveling about 92 mph and made no attempt to stop or swerve before striking the other vehicle on Indiana 32 west of Anderson, according to court documents.
In an interview with detectives, Foutch said he remembered looking down at his dashboard gauges for a second, and then there was a bang. He said he had taken hydrocodone, a powerful painkiller he had a prescription for, and Xanax, an anti-anxiety drug, court records showed.
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Information from: The Herald Bulletin, https://www.theheraldbulletin.com
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