Fiancée Sues Over Indy Intersection That Has Killed Four Since 2025

Billie Jean Peterson visits a cross and a white-painted bicycle near East Raymond and Shelby streets every single day. It's a memorial to her fiancé, 32-year-old Dillan Rogers, who was riding his bike home from work on February 13, 2025 when he was struck and killed near the I-65 off-ramp. Now Peterson has filed a lawsuit against Marion County, the Indiana Department of Transportation and the State of Indiana, arguing the intersection is a known hazard the government failed to fix.

Rogers was the primary provider for his two children and is remembered as a father, brother and son, according to IndyStar. Peterson told the paper that Rogers was wearing lights and protective gear at the time he was struck and killed by the driver of a Ford F-350 pickup truck, and that the crosswalk where he was crossing was not clearly marked. She also said the right lane exiting the highway blends directly into the crosswalk, and that drivers exiting in that lane do not always have to stop before turning.

Blood tests after the crash showed driver Chase Turner had 24 nanograms per milliliter of Delta-9 THC in his system, and traffic camera footage confirmed Rogers had the right-of-way when he crossed the off-ramp onto Raymond Street, according to WTHR. Court records show Turner pulled into a nearby White Castle after feeling a bump and flagged down an officer. Turner pleaded guilty to causing death while operating a motor vehicle and was sentenced in late July to three years of home detention and fined about $1,500, per the same WTHR report.

A Corridor With a Body Count

Rogers is not the only person killed near that off-ramp. Crash records show at least 13 pedestrians or cyclists have been struck at or near the East Raymond and Shelby Street intersection since November 2022, resulting in three fatalities, according to an analysis by WRTV. IndyStar reports that collisions near the intersection have left at least four people dead since 2025 and two more critically injured.

Among the dead is 4-year-old Alan Marcelo Salas-Garcia, who was killed in a hit-and-run while crossing Raymond Street on May 7, 2025; Cristobal Salas and Erin Bailey were also injured in that crash. The driver, Danny Wimbleduff, was sentenced in May to eight years in prison and two years of home detention after pleading guilty, with court documents noting he was driving 80 mph in a 40 mph zone when he ran a red light, per WTHR's coverage of that fatal hit-and-run arrest.

Jeffrey Gillard died after being struck by the driver of a pickup truck on October 13, 2025. Then, on June 7, 2026, 50-year-old Earl Scruggs was killed in a hit-and-run while crossing the street in his wheelchair, with investigators searching for a white Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck, IMPD said in the wake of that case, which Hoodline covered as it rocked Indy's southeast side.

Community Members Describe a Pattern

Jakob Morales, who has spoken about the intersection, said drivers commonly drive through it without stopping and called it dangerous by design. He said shorter crossing distances and slower vehicle speeds could improve safety, and believes lawsuits such as Peterson's are necessary to force safer roads. Morales added that improved infrastructure would help pedestrians and cyclists feel safer navigating the area.

Gina Koeneman, who has also spoken publicly about the corridor's dangers, said Gillard was a father and husband simply trying to get to work when he was killed. She said INDOT, the city and the state have been contacted about the intersection for a long time, and family members of other victims have reached out to the state and county without seeing progress, according to IndyStar. Central Indiana Cycling helped plan a vigil for Rogers near I-65 and East Raymond Street on November 16, 2025, which honored five people affected by crashes in the area, and Vision Zero supporters have joined calls to improve the intersection.

The Vision Zero Network documented a memorial walk along Raymond Street during the November 2025 World Day of Remembrance, where residents said drivers were cutting through neighborhood streets at 35 to 40 mph to bypass highway ramp traffic. Before filing suit, Peterson gathered petition signatures and called government officials directly, seeking both improvements to the intersection and broader government accountability.

A Legal Fight Facing Steep Hurdles

Marion County, the Indiana Department of Transportation and the State of Indiana have all denied allegations of negligence in legal filings responding to the lawsuit, per IndyStar. The case highlights a jurisdictional tangle common to intersections like this one: I-65 ramps fall under INDOT's oversight, while the connecting arterial streets are managed locally, complicating any effort to assign responsibility.

Before suing, Peterson had to clear a procedural hurdle built into Indiana law. Under the Indiana Tort Claims Act, anyone planning to sue a government body must file a formal written tort claim notice within 180 days for local subdivisions or 270 days for state agencies, or their claim is permanently barred, according to the Delventhal Law Office. Government defendants in these cases also frequently invoke a separate statutory shield: Indiana Code 34-13-3-3 grants immunity from roadway design defect claims if a thoroughfare has not undergone a substantial redesign within the past 20 years, according to research published on Purdue e-Pubs.

Wider Data, Slow-Moving Fixes

East Raymond Street falls within Marion County's High Injury Network, a designation covering roughly 5 percent of local street corridors that account for nearly half of all fatal and severe crashes in the region, according to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization. Citywide, 85 people died in Indianapolis traffic crashes in 2025, with pedestrians and cyclists making up more than 30 percent of those fatalities, 24 pedestrians and 9 bicyclists, per data compiled by ThatCarHitMe.com.

The city did create new tools last spring meant to respond faster to dangerous corridors. In March 2026, Indianapolis established a Quick Build unit alongside a Fatal Crash Review Team designed to evaluate severe crash locations and deploy temporary safety improvements, such as curb extensions, lane separators and rapid re-signage, within weeks, as reported by WFYI. Whether that unit will turn its attention to East Raymond and Shelby streets remains to be seen, even as Peterson continues her daily visits to the roadside memorial for the man she was set to marry.