(Franklin County, IN) – Charges have been re-filed in Franklin County against 32-year-old Dennis R. Poland Jr. of Lawrenceburg in connection with a fatal crash that happened nearly four years ago, following the successful appeal of an evidentiary ruling.
Poland is facing several felonies, including including Operating a Vehicle with a Controlled Substance Causing Death and Reckless Homicide, stemming from a multi-vehicle wreck on April 5, 2022 on U.S. 52 between Cedar Grove and New Trenton that claimed the life of 20-year-old Makenzie Howell of Aurora.
According to the probable cause affidavit, filed December 15, 2022, an Indiana State Police investigation of the accident revealed that Howell’s body was found in a ditch following the crash and it was believed she had been ejected from a vehicle. The other occupant of the vehicle, later identified as Poland, was found to be unconscious and pinned inside…