Knox County man facing charges from two women’s drowning deaths

Knox County — The Knox County Prosecutor’s Office has filed two counts of driving while intoxicated causing death, a Level 5 Felony, against Kyle Mason, 34, of Oaktown.

The criminal charges stem from an incident that occurred during the early morning hours of February 4th near Oaktown.  Mason was issued a summons to appear in court for his initial hearing on May 21 at 10:00 a.m. in Knox County Circuit Court.

The incident occurred on February 4. According to authorities, Kyle Mason, 34 of Oaktown, was driving a military-model Humvee with his wife Breezie, 33, and two friends, Cody Meeks, 33, and Meeks’ wife Meaghan, 32, four-wheeling in a field at about 1 a.m. The Humvee drove off an embankment and went into the river.

Mr. Meeks and Mr. Mason were able to exit the Humvee and swim to the bank. The two women did not make it out.

Meeks and Mason ran about a mile and a half back to Mason’s residence to get help but there was no phone at the residence and two men’s phones were in the river. Mr. Mason got another four-wheel vehicle and headed back to the river to attempt to locate the women while Mr. Meeks ran to a nearby residence to call for help.

Emergency crews from numerous agencies responded. Divers located the vehicle but due to a strong current, they had a difficult time securing and removing it from the Wabash River.  At approximately 10:30 a.m. that Sunday, crews located both women when they pulled the vehicle to the surface.

During the investigation, it was determined that Mason had a blood alcohol content above the legal limit at the approximate time he drove off the embankment and into the Wabash River.