The Indianapolis community is grappling with the aftermath of a tragic hit-and-run collision that claimed the life of a child and left two adults critically injured last night. According to FOX59, the accident occurred near the intersection of South State Avenue and East Raymond Street; a juvenile was killed when a driver, allegedly operating a Dodge Charger at excessive speed, ran a red light and collided with a bicycle towing a trailer with the child inside, as well as a silver Honda Civic.
The sequence of events, as reported by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and relayed by WISHTV, suggests that the Charger was traveling eastbound on East Raymond Street and upon disregarding the traffic signal, first struck the Civic and then the bicycle the subsequent chaos resulted in critical injuries to the male bicyclist and the female driver of the Civic both of whom were transported to Eskenazi Hospital in critical condition.
Amidst the ensuing turmoil at the crash site, as WTHR recounts, the bicyclist who had the walk light and was nearly to the median at the time of the incident, was pulling a tow-behind trailer with his child onboard. Tragically, the child was later pronounced dead at Riley Hospital for Children.
Officials underscore the preventability of such an incident, with IMPD Night Watch Captain Don Weilhammer emphasizing to FOX59 that, "All this could’ve been avoided if we would do the speed limit and pay attention to the lights." Moreover, officers who were training in the vicinity promptly reported the crash, and the driver of the Charger, described as a male, fled the scene on foot, leaving law enforcement and K-9 units to conduct a search which as of 11:44 p.m. had not resulted in an apprehension.
The investigation into this devastating event continues as IMPD works to obtain video evidence from a person who claimed to have captured the crash. They are encouraging anyone with information to come forward by contacting them at (317) 327-2630 or, for those wishing to remain anonymous, to reach out to Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana by calling (317) 262-8477, using the mobile app P3Tips, or visiting their website at www.CrimeTips.org.
