Wrong-way driver’s hearing in crash that killed Mason family members on hold

A competency hearing is on hold for a 21-year-old driver facing murder charges in a wrong-way crash that killed three members of a Warren County family on St. Patrick’s Day.

Abby Michaels, formerly of Xenia, was scheduled to be in court today after undergoing sanity evaluation and mental competency evaluations, Montgomery County Court records show.

The hearing was set after her attorney filed to change her plea to not guilty by reason of insanity. However, a court official said today the hearing is on hold and no new date has been set.

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A not guilty plea was earlier entered for Michaels, who is charged with six counts of murder, six counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol in the March 17 crash on Interstate 75 in Moraine.

She was indicted in July for the deaths of husband and wife Timmy and Karen Thompson, and their 10-year-old daughter Tessa, all of Mason.

County Prosecutor Mat Heck Jr. has said Michaels deliberately drove the wrong way northbound in the southbound lanes of I-75 after pulling over in an emergency U-Turn area on the highway.

Michaels is being held on a $3 million bond.

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