ANDERSON, Ind. — A car full of teen boys was chasing and allegedly playing reckless driving games with an SUV driven by Ball State University freshman Sophie Robbins in the early morning hours of Jan. 19, 2020. Around 4:30 a.m. that Sunday morning, Robbins wrecked and was ejected from the SUV and killed. The other car fled. Two teens in that car, the driver and the owner, have been sentenced to prison time for their roles in the deadly accident.
Eighteen-year-old Javion Wright was driving the car that chased Robbins. On Oct. 27, Wright received a four-year sentence in a plea agreement for leaving the scene of an accident, criminal recklessness with aggressive driving when a person is killed, criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon, and driving without ever having obtained a license.
Alex Lozano, 18, was a passenger but owned the car. After the crash, he reported his car stolen to try to cover up the accident. Lozano received an 18-month sentence in a plea agreement for false informing and assisting a criminal. Lozano will spend another 18 months in prison for stealing a gun in a separate case.
A juvenile passenger pleaded guilty to assisting a criminal. Charges were dismissed against 19-year-old passenger Keandre Williams.
The vehicles were eastbound on 38th Street, east of Anderson, and had just crossed State Road 67. Where 38th Street turns into County Road 200 South, the white SUV driven by Robbins lost control, left the road and rolled multiple times, ejecting the driver in the driveway of a home on 200 South. The SUV came to rest upside down in the front yard of that house.
Lozano told investigators that people in both vehicles "frequently congregate late night or early mornings and hang out, and sometimes drive recklessly, kind of showing off for one another."
Robbins was 19 years old and lived in Dunkirk, Indiana. She graduated from Jay County High School and was studying to be a social worker at Ball State. Her mother, Layla Roberts-Jenkins, provided a statement through Facebook:
“The only comment we have is that we're disgusted. Other than that, we wish to be left alone. It is over and we're thankful we don't have to keep reliving the situation.”
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