Winona Lake woman who hit 142 mph in fatal crash avoids jail time

A Winona Lake woman who was driving 142 mph when she caused a fatal crash has been sentenced to 8½ years on probation and ordered to continue receiving mental health treatment.

Stacey R. Motz-Altman pleaded guilty but mentally ill in June to reckless homicide and criminal recklessness. An Allen County judge also ordered her Monday not to drive during her probation and to pay $29,000 in restitution to the victim’s husband.

Police say the 38-eight-year-old woman rear-ended a car on U.S. 30 last September and pushed it into the rear of a semitrailer. The car’s driver, 54-year-old Luann Simon, was pinned inside her vehicle’s wreckage and later died.

Court records say police determined Motz-Altman’s speed at the time of crash from her seat belt control module.