A man from Bloomington, Illinois, has been sentenced to 13 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections after causing a fatal crash in Audrain County while driving under the influence of alcohol.
Tyler W. Herman received a 13-year prison sentence on Tuesday for driving while intoxicated and causing the death of another individual, along with an additional one-year sentence for operating a vehicle in a careless and imprudent manner. According to court records, both sentences are to be served concurrently.
The incident occurred on the afternoon of August 30, 2024, along the Highway 54 bypass in Mexico, Missouri. Court documents indicate that Herman was traveling southbound in the northbound lanes at the time of the crash, resulting in a head-on collision with an SUV. The impact subsequently triggered a vehicle fire.
The driver of the SUV, 70-year-old Mary Piper of Columbia, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Illinois man arrested, charged for deadly crash on Highway 54
The crash, which happened Friday afternoon, killed a 70-year-old woman from Columbia.
Law enforcement officers who responded to the scene noted that Herman exhibited several signs of intoxication, including slurred speech, bloodshot and glassy eyes, and a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, as outlined in court documents. Herman reportedly acknowledged that he had consumed alcohol in the hours preceding the crash.
Herman initially entered a not guilty plea to the charges brought against him in February 2025, before ultimately submitting a guilty plea in September 2026, according to court records.
