Chesterton woman who ran over, killed daughter while drunk in '98 arrested on DUI charge

BEVERLY SHORES | A woman convicted in 1999 of driving drunk and fatally running over her 6-year-old daughter was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving Thursday.

Christine Timm, 41, of Chesterton, faces resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, drug possession and a series of drunken driving charges.

At 11:56 p.m. Thursday, a Porter County sheriff's officer stopped Timm on County Road 500 East, just south of U.S. 12, after he said she was speeding and driving erratically through The Pines.

The officer said Timm smelled of alcohol and told him she was on her way home from a doctor's appointment. When asked which doctor had office hours around midnight, the woman reportedly told the officer she stopped at a friend's house.

The officer said the woman initially denied having anything to drink, then said she had too much to drink.

Police said the woman failed a series of field sobriety tests and told them she had a previous drunken driving conviction and was responsible for the death of her young daughter, whom she referred to in disparaging terms.

In 1999, Timm was sentenced to 60 days in jail following a drunken driving and child neglect conviction. Police said on July 20, 1998, Timm was driving drunk with her 6-year-old daughter hanging out the window, when the girl fell out of the car. Timm ran over the girl with the car's rear wheels. The girl suffered multiple head injuries and died about 30 minutes later. 

In Thursday's incident, after a judge issued a warrant for a chemical test, Timm was taken to Porter hospital in Valparaiso, where she reportedly accused officers of ruining her life and went on expletive-laced rants on police, clergy and others.

Police said Timm had a blood alcohol concentration three times the 0.08 legal limit, tested positive for opiates and had prescription painkillers in her pocket.

She was taken to Porter County Jail.