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A Fishers father of six was struck and killed on Interstate 69 while changing a tire on his work van, and his family says the driver who hit him never stopped. Indiana State Police are investigating the crash, which happened along the interstate corridor in Hamilton County, as a hit-and-run.
Family members identified the victim as Gregory Scott Christopher II and told reporters he was on the shoulder working on a flat tire when he was struck, according to WTHR. His relatives are now pleading publicly for answers as investigators work to identify the driver who fled the scene. The station reports Indiana State Police are actively investigating the pedestrian death.
If the fleeing driver is identified, they could face serious criminal exposure. Under Indiana Code § 9-26-1-1.1, leaving the scene of a crash that results in a death is a Level 4 felony, punishable by two to 12 years in prison and fines of up to $10,000, according to FindLaw. Indiana statute requires drivers involved in fatal crashes to stop and render aid at the scene.
A Highway Shoulder Meant to Be Protected
Indiana's Move Over Law, IC 9-21-8-35, requires drivers approaching any stationary vehicle with hazard lights flashing on a highway shoulder to change lanes or slow to at least 10 mph below the posted speed limit, per TheTrucker.com. The law exists precisely for situations like the one Christopher was in: stopped on the shoulder, working on his vehicle. State police have been actively enforcing the statute in recent months, conducting a targeted Move Over operation in July that resulted in 107 traffic stops, 54 citations and 53 warnings issued to motorists who failed to give roadside vehicles space, the outlet's report notes.
This is not the first fatal pedestrian crash to strike this stretch of I-69 near Fishers. In November 2024, a pedestrian was struck and killed by a semi-trailer on northbound I-69 near mile marker 208.6, a crash Hoodline reported shut down the highway for nearly three hours while Indiana State Police reconstructed the scene near Fishers High School. Then in February, all southbound lanes of I-69 near 116th Street in Fishers were closed for more than four hours after another vehicle-versus-pedestrian collision killed a person during the morning commute, with ISP's Critical Incident Reconstruction Team investigating that scene as well.
Statewide Progress, Local Risk
The pattern in Fishers stands in some contrast to broader state trends. A report published in April found Indiana saw a nearly 38% drop in pedestrian fatalities in early 2025 compared to the year before, giving the state a pedestrian fatality rate of 0.48 per 100,000 residents — nearly half the national average, according to WFYI, citing data from the Governors Highway Safety Association. Nationally, the association projected 6,732 pedestrian deaths in 2025, a 7% annual decline marking the third straight year of reductions, though the group also noted pedestrian deaths remain nearly 20% higher than 2016 levels.
Even with those statewide improvements, pedestrians in the Indianapolis metro area continue to face outsized danger once a crash occurs. Regional data from 2024 and 2025 showed pedestrians accounted for roughly 14% of total traffic crashes in the metro area but represented 30% of all traffic fatalities, according to ThatCarHitMe.com, which compiled the figures from officer crash reports in the state's ARIES database.
What Comes Next for the Investigation
Should investigators eventually identify a driver, Indiana's comparative fault framework would still allow the family to pursue civil recovery even though Christopher was on the highway shoulder. Under that framework, a pedestrian's location does not automatically bar a civil claim if driver negligence — such as excessive speed, distraction, or fleeing the scene — can be proven, according to Emerson Divorce and Accident Injury Attorneys. Indiana courts allocate fault by percentage rather than an all-or-nothing standard, the firm notes.
For now, key questions remain unanswered: whether investigators will recover highway traffic camera footage or vehicle debris that could help identify the driver, and whether Indiana State Police can locate eyewitnesses who were traveling through the I-69 Fishers corridor at the time of the crash. Christopher's family continues to wait for those answers as the investigation into his death moves forward.
