A woman who survived a deadly 2015 drunk driving crash is pushing for change after the driver who hit her was arrested again for operating while intoxicated — twice in two months.
WRTV Investigates is digging into how our criminal justice system treated Timothy Hughes and why he was out of prison with a valid driver’s license.
“All I remember is saying ‘I need help’”: Victim recalls 2015 Hancock County crash
Amanda Wheeler and Carla McCloud were like sisters.
“My cousin and I were always inseparable,” said Amanda Wheeler. “We were both 22 years old and we still hung out all the time."
In August 2015, they were riding bikes in New Palestine when Timothy Hughes hit them.
“All I remember is saying I need help," said Wheeler. “I had a fractured skull.”
Crime scene photos obtained by WRTV Investigates show damage to Hughes’ car, Amanda and Carla’s bicycles, and vodka and Oxycontin found inside Hughes’ Car.
Hughes was 17 years old at the time of the crash.
His blood alcohol level in 2015 was more than 3 times the legal limit.
Carla McCloud died from her injuries in the crash.
“She was a shining light for everyone that met her,” said Wheeler.
A decade after the Hancock County crash, Wheeler says she is still recovering emotionally and physically.
“I still struggle sometimes with memory,” said Wheeler. “I feel a little slow sometimes whenever I'm trying to gather my thoughts."
“Traumatized, again”:Wheeler receives notice of May 1 arrest in Hamilton County
On May 1, 2025, Amanda Wheeler got an alert from the Indiana Department of Corrections notification system saying Timothy Hughes was in custody at the Hamilton County Jail.
“I was frustrated. I was angry. I was confused,” said Wheeler. “I was traumatized again."
Wheeler contacted WRTV Investigates Kara Kenney for help.
We found court records alleging on May 1, Hughes was in Cicero, swerving in and out of his lane on his way to work at 7 a.m.
Court documents allege Hughes attempted to walk away from police officers, claiming he was OK and had just woken up.
“He stated at one point during the test that he was going to lose his job,” according to an affidavit for probable cause from Cicero Police.
Hamilton County prosecutors allege Hughes’ blood alcohol level was .30, nearly four times the legal limit.
“It says he really hasn’t felt the effects of what he’s done,” said Wheeler in response to Hughes’ May arrest.
Just weeks after sitting down with Amanda Wheeler, and while WRTV Investigates was still investigating, Hughes was arrested again—his 3rd drunk driving arrest, this time in Henry County.
“I know I’m going back to prison”: Hughes arrested in Henry County on June 16
Court documents allege on June 16, Hughes was on I-70 “all over the roadway, driving at a high rate of speed.”
A Henry County Sheriff’s deputy pulled Hughes over on State Road 3 and Fair Oaks Road after the deputy observed him weaving in and out of his lane, court documents allege.
Hughes denied drinking alcohol, but the deputy noted “an overwhelming odor of an alcoholic beverage” coming from his vehicle.
Prosecutors say Hughes’ blood alcohol level was more than 3 times the legal limit.
He told deputies, “F**k all ya’ll. I know I’m going back to prison,” read court documents.
Later that same day, Hughes posted bond and walked out of the Henry County jail.
Nine days later, on June 25, Hughes walked into a Hamilton County courtroom where prosecutors outlined both his May and June arrests and argued for Hughes’ bond to be revoked in Hamilton County.
“His history indicates his driving behavior, and this pattern of behavior is significantly dangerous to the community and has caused significant harm in the past,” a deputy prosecutor said. “Similar behavior in failing to maintain a lane, driving all over the road.”
Hughes’ attorney told the court his client had checked himself into a treatment facility.
“This is not a malicious act,” said Thomas Lewis, Hughes’ attorney. “This is the actions of somebody that has an addiction problem. I will tell you he sold his car."
Hamilton County Judge Andrew Bloch revoked Hughes’ bond.
"While I appreciate Mr. Lewis’s argument that you now want to turn your life around, the time for that was not yesterday,” said Judge Bloch. “The time for that was a long time ago. I have another place where you may not be able to consume alcohol."
Bailiffs handcuffed Hughes and took him to jail.
Amanda Wheeler now lives in Florida, but she flew in for the June 25 hearing.
She agrees with the judge’s decision to revoke Hughes’ bond.
"I think that’s what needed to happen to make sure that people are safe,” said Wheeler. “He’s putting a lot of people I love in danger by doing what he’s doing. He hasn’t made the efforts that I feel would honor Carla to change his behavior."
The next day, on June 26, a handcuffed Hughes was dressed in orange when he appeared in a Henry County courtroom.
He faces a total of 14 years in prison if convicted on 11 criminal counts in both Henry and Hamilton counties.
Hughes spoke softly and had very little to say to the judge during his appearance.
“Do you have any questions?” asked Judge Kit Dean.
“I don’t think so, sir,” responded Hughes.
WRTV Investigates contacted Hughes’ attorney for comment, and we have not heard back.
Hughes is due in Hamilton County court on August 6 and Henry County court on September 25.
He’s pleaded not guilty.
“I don’t feel safe with him on the road”: Hughes served half his prison sentence in 2015 case
The deadly crash happened in Hancock County on August 11, 2015.
Hancock County prosecutors filed charges against Hughes on August 19, 2015.
On August 20, Hughes was placed on pre-trial detention.
On October 22, 2015, a community corrections officer making a routine visit found Hughes with a duster can. Hughes admitted to inhaling it, records show.
A judge found Hughes in violation of his pre-trial detention, and Hughes was incarcerated awaiting trial from October 27, 2015 through February 8, 2016.
On February 9, 2016, a Hancock County judge convicted Hughes for the crash that killed Carla McCloud and injured Amanda Wheeler.
He was sentenced to the maximum -- 9.5 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections and a 10-year driver's license suspension.
In 2019, a separate Hancock County judge dismissed some of the charges against Hughes following a Petition for Post-Conviction Relief, but Hughes 9.5-year IDOC sentence did not change.
Yet Hughes served only half of his prison sentence.
In 2020, he was released from prison with credits for time served, plus credits for education and completion of programs while in prison.
Four years later, on August 1, 2024, Hughes’ license was suspended for Failure to Appear for Driver Safety Program.
A month later, on September 1, 2024, Indiana State Police ticketed Hughes for driving while suspended on I-65 in Bartholomew County.
Hughes paid a $152.50 fine, and days later, he got his driver’s license back.
Less than a year later, on May 1, 2025, Hughes had a valid driver’s license when Cicero Police stopped him for allegedly driving drunk.
His driver’s license was not suspended again until May 15, 2025, after his Hamilton County OWI arrest.
Wheeler says the criminal justice system gave Hughes a lot of chances.
“I don’t feel safe with him on the road,” said Wheeler.
Wheeler says the criminal justice system is not working as it should to protect people on the road.
“Not in my case, in my opinion,” said Hughes. “I don't think it's working right now."
Driver’s license suspension mostly served while incarcerated
Wheeler was shocked when WRTV Investigates told her Hughes’ driver’s license was not suspended as it says in his sentence.
It was suspended for five years, from February 2016 until February 2021. Almost all of it was served while Hughes was locked up.
“I was dumbfounded because this was not at all the information that I received at the time of sentencing,” said Wheeler. “It feels like fine print to me. That was never shared with us.”
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is an organization that has helped Wheeler throughout this process.
Denise Niblick, a program manager with MADD, said license suspensions can help bring peace of mind to victims.
“I definitely don’t think anybody hearing about a punishment would think your license is suspended while you’re already in DOC,” said Niblick. “I don’t think that makes a lot of sense."
WRTV Investigates spent weeks contacting state and local agencies and we learned it’s common for offenders to serve their driver’s license suspensions while they’re behind bars.
According to the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council (IPAC), a state law requires multiple driver license suspensions to be served at the same time if they resulted from the same incident.
That’s one possible reason why Hughes’ license was suspended for 5 years instead of the 10 years the judge sentenced.
"I would like to say thank you to you,” said Wheeler. “It was overwhelming to me. Kara, I don’t think we would have found out as much information about what happened without involving you as well."
“This is a societal issue”: MADD calls for change
Denise Niblick says our criminal justice system considers drunk driving a non-violent crime.
One-third of drunk drivers will reoffend, according to MADD.
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"We believe offenders should be held to the fullest extent of the law,” said Niblick. “There's a lot of rhetoric out there that says this is a mistake."
Niblick says the drunk driver who hit and killed her sister served three years in prison, but Niblick says more prison time is not always the answer.
“This is not just a criminal issue. This is not just is the sentence long enough or not,” said Niblick. “This is a societal issue.”
She says prevention and education are key, and punishment should be a last resort.
“Whatever sentence makes someone better is what we want,” said Niblick. “We want somebody to be rehabilitated."
That is what Amanda Wheeler says she wants for Timothy Hughes.
"I don’t want to ruin the guy’s life,” said Wheeler. “I just want to make sure he doesn’t want to ruin somebody else's."
Wheeler wore a button to court with a picture of her with her cousin, Carla McCloud.
She wants to remind the criminal justice system about what happened in 2015.
"He (Hughes) still has a life and this opportunity to make mistakes, and Carla doesn’t,” said Wheeler. “So, choose wisely on how you honor that."
