Crash Victim Dies In Coma; New Charges Possible

Jeremy Brown

Dearborn County Law Enforcement Center

Kayla Gray died May 13 after almost a month in a coma following the car crash.

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(Lawrenceburg, Ind.) - Upgraded charges could be coming for a man who ran from a crash in Dearborn County last month.

Jeremy Brown, 28, was allegedly intoxicated when he crashed on Wilson Creek Road outside of Lawrenceburg the afternoon of April 13. Before police arrived, Brown fled the scene with another driver who happened to drive up on the accident. He was later tracked down by deputies at nearby Knoll Apartments in Lawrenceburg.

A passenger in Brown’s vehicle, Kayla Gray, of Lawrenceburg, was seriously hurt in the crash. Gray had been in a coma since, but died Tuesday, May 14 at the hospital, her mother Mary Hedger told Eagle 99.3 Wednesday.

“It’s still not clear as to why (Kayla died) yet, because she was improving so much,” Hedger said.

Gray was the 22-year-old mother of two children: a four-year-old daughter, Morgan, and two-year-old son, Allen. She was friends with Jeremy Brown.

Dearborn County Sheriff Mike Kreinhop said investigators are aware of the development with Gray’s passing. The Dearborn County Prosecutor’s Office has been informed, Kreinhop said.

Upgraded charges of OWI Causing Death or Reckless Homicide could soon be filed against Brown, depending on the determination of Gray’s official cause of death.

According to police, Brown has at least three prior OWI convictions in Indiana.

Brown remains held in the Dearborn County Law Enforcement Center on $150,000 surety and $2,500 cash. He is currently charged with OWI with a Prior Conviction Causing Serious Bodily Injury (Class C felony), Failure to Stop After an Accident Resulting In Serious Bodily Injury (Class D felony), Habitual Traffic Violator (Class D felony), and Resisting Law Enforcement (Class A misdemeanor).

“I hope he never gets out for this,” Hedger said.

Gray’s funeral is scheduled for Saturday, May 18 from noon to 2:00 p.m. at Neidhard-Minges Funeral Home in Harrison, Ohio.

Hedger said the family is in need of donations to help pay for her daughter’s funeral and burial. Those donations can be made to the family through the funeral home.

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