A motorcycle rider suffered multiple broken bones and a severed artery in a head-on collision with an SUV in February on SR 59. The driver of the SUV was suspected of driving in an impaired state and a blood draw was taken. This month the results came back from the Department of Toxicology showing the driver of the SUV had a BAC of .234. He’s been arrested and is facing two Level 5 felonies and three misdemeanors.

Robert Michael Motto, 52, Linton, was arrested by Deputy Harvey Holt of the Greene County Sheriff's Department on Tuesday afternoon, May 31, on a warrant for Motto’s arrest that was issued following an investigation by GCDW Deputy James Carpenter into a crash that occurred on February 20 involving an SUV and a motorcycle.

Deputy Carpenter was dispatched on Sunday, February 20, to a crash involving a motorcycle and an SUV in the area of State Road 59 and County Road 400 North. When Deputy Carpenter arrived at 1:16 PM, the motorcycle operator, Joshua Smith, was lying next to a black motorcycle in the roadway. Deputy Carpenter said EMS personnel were attempting to speak with Smith but he was having trouble talking due to his injuries.

Smith was transported to Greene County General Hospital by the Greene County Ambulance Service and from there, he was transported by medical helicopter to Eskenazi Hospital in Indianapolis.

Robert Motto was the driver of a black 2012 Mitsubishi Outlander, the SUV involved in the crash. When asked for his license, registration and insurance information, Motto allegedly said his license was suspended. Later when dispatch ran a check, Deputy Carpenter learned that Motto’s license was suspended with a status of habitual traffic violator effective from April 24, 2012 until April 22, 2022.

Motto said he was coming from a doctor's appointment at Greene County General Hospital and was on his way home when the crash occurred. He said he was northbound on SR 59 and slowed down to about 10 mph to turn left onto CR 400 N and did not see anything coming. He allegedly said as he was turning left the motorcycle appeared in the southbound lane of the highway and he attempted to swerve back towards the northbound lane but the motorcycle also swerved toward the northbound lane and they collided head on. Motto then pulled over onto CR 400 N after the crash.

Officer Andrew Duguay of the Jasonville Police Department was on the scene to assist and the two officers asked Motto to exit his vehicle but Motto was very slow getting out, his speech was slow and he exhibited other signs of impairment.

When Motto was taken into custody and placed in the back of a patrol vehicle for transport to the sheriff's department, Deputy Carpenter reported he could smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from Motto and his speech continued to be slurred and he was spitting as he was talking. On the way to the sheriff's department, Motto said his back and shoulder hurt from the crash but he did not want to go to the hospital.

Motto allegedly said he had one ‘Jack and coke’ prior to the crash and when asked to do field sobriety testing, he was not able due to previous injuries. Motto agreed at that time to take a chemical test and the jail staff advised the deputy they would not accept Motto without medical clearance. So Motto was transported by Greene County Ambulance to Greene County General Hospital for medical treatment/clearance.

Once at the hospital, around 2:43 PM, Motto said he wanted a lawyer and he would not consent to a blood draw. A search warrant was requested and issued through Greene Superior Court and at 3:30 PM, a blood draw was obtained.

Officer Duguay took photographs of the crash scene, Skinner’s Towing impounded the motorcycle and the Outlander, and the blood evidence was sent to the Indiana Department of Toxicology for analysis.

Continuing his investigation, Deputy Carpenter talked to a witness who was northbound on SR 59 behind Motto’s black SUV. The witness said Motto got into the southbound lane of the highway about five vehicle length’s south of CR 400 N. He said Motto was slowing down but was not using a turn signal. The witness said he was getting ready to pass Motto when he saw the motorcycle and so he slowed down to avoid the collision but he saw the black SUV swerve back into the northbound lane and saw the motorcycle also swerve toward the northbound lane. He saw both vehicles crash head-on and said the driver the motorcycle was ejected and went over the hood of the SUV. According to Deputy Carpenter, the witness said Motto was driving normally until he got over into the southbound lane to turn left. Deputy Carpenter noted that the area where Motto got into the southbound lane was a no-passing zone for northbound traffic. There was no turning lane - it was a two-lane highway with two curves near the intersection of SR 59 and CR 400 N.

In March, Deputy Carpenter received medical records for Joshua Smith and he talked to Smith’s wife who said Smith’s pelvis was broken in front and back, his right hip was broken, his right humerus was broken and he had a severed artery in his right arm.

More recently, on May 22, Deputy Carpenter received the analysis from the Indiana State Department of Toxicology which showed Motto had an alcohol concentration of .234. The legal limit is .08.

When a criminal case was filed against Motto last Friday, May 27, Greene County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Keven McIntosh advised the court the prosecution intends to ask for a sentence enhancement in this case and the judge set bond at $34,000 cash or surety. Motto has since been released on a surety bond.

Motto is facing charges of:

Causing serious bodily injury when operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a Level 5 felony,
Operating a vehicle while being an habitual traffic violator causing catastrophic injury, a Level 5 felony,
Operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person, a Class A misdemeanor,
Operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalent to .15 or more, a Class A misdemeanor, and
Criminal recklessness, a Class B misdemeanor.