Woman who killed 3 while trying to evade police on I-75 in Lexington pleads guilty
A woman accused of killing three people in a head-on collision during a police chase on I-75 pleaded guilty to murder and other charges in court Tuesday afternoon.
Tammy Rodriguez, 45, was originally charged with three counts of murder, assault, wanton endangerment and driving without a license stemming from the 2019 wreck that killed her sister and two others.
Rodriguez accepted a plea deal, which amended one of the murder charges down to second-degree manslaughter and the first-degree assault charge down to second-degree assault. The other charges remained the same.
Prosecutors recommended a 20-year sentence for each of the murder charges, 10 years for the manslaughter charge, five years for the assault charge and one year for the wanton endangerment charge. Prosecutors recommended that Rodriguez get credit for time she has already served for the driving without a license charge.
Prosecutors recommended that the sentences for the manslaughter, assault and wanton endangerment charges be served concurrently with the murder charges. Prosecutors didn’t make a recommendation on whether the murder sentences should be served concurrently or consecutively.
Sentencing for Rodriguez was scheduled for June 2. A Fayette County judge will determine whether to accept the prosecutors’ recommendations for sentencing. If prosecutors’ recommendations are accepted, the judge will still need to decide whether Rodriguez should be sentenced to 20 or 40 years on the murder convictions.
How Central Kentucky police chase ended with 3 dead
On Sept. 4, 2019, Rodriguez was being chased by police in Clark County when she made a sudden U-turn and began driving the wrong way on the interstate, Winchester police Capt. James Hall said after the crash. Hall said officers were driving up to 90 miles per hour but were not gaining ground on Rodriguez.
After making the U-turn, Rodriguez drove the wrong direction for almost a mile before her Ford-150 struck two other vehicles, according to Lexington police. Rodriguez’ sister, Debbie Lynn Bevins, a 35-year-old Pikeville resident, died in the crash. Sisters Taylor Blevins, 26, and Caitlyn Bailey, 20, both of Georgetown, were killed in the collision too. Another person was seriously injured.
Rodriguez was allegedly driving under the influence at the time of the pursuit.
Before the September crash, Rodriguez had been convicted of drunken driving four times in Pike and Shelby counties, according to court records.
This story was originally published April 12, 2022 at 2:52 PM.
