Forty-seven year old Anthony Austin of Georgetown has pleaded guilty to one count of “Aggravated Driving Under the Influence Resulting in the Deaths of Two Persons or More,” in connection with the early morning hours October 2, 2022 crash on Catlin-Indianola Road at County Road 550 in Indianola that killed a mother, father, and daughter from Oxford, Indiana.
The driver of the vehicle that was struck, fifty-two year old Lee Hall; his wife, 46 year old Felisha Hall; and their daughter, 18 year old Madison Hall; all died in the accident. Subsequent testing showed that Austin had a blood alcohol level of .167%.
During Monday (Jan 29th) afternoon’s proceedings before Judge Derek J. Girton, Vermilion County State’s Attorney Jacqueline Lacy explained that the agreed upon partial plea had Austin pleading guilty to the one count, in exchange for the remaining counts being dropped. The sentence, which under this felony would qualify for 6 to 28 years, will be capped at 20 years, followed by a 12 month probationary period. Eighty-five percent of the sentence would be required to be served.
The fourth floor courtroom at the Vermilion County Courthouse included approximately 15 family and friends of the Hall family, about five family and friends of Anthony Austin, and four Vermilion County Sheriff’s deputies.
Austin is now required to appear for an April 3rd sentencing hearing, which is scheduled for 10 AM.
