Hit-And-Run Hurts Woman on Indy's East Side, Driver Found a Mile Away

A woman was seriously injured early Friday after being struck by a vehicle in a hit-and-run crash on the east side of Indianapolis, and the driver fled before officers arrived. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department dispatched officers around 1:15 a.m. Friday to the intersection of Southeastern Avenue and Sherman Drive, where the pedestrian was found badly hurt.

The woman was taken to an area hospital in serious condition, according to Fox 59. Per IMPD, the driver left the scene, but officers later found the vehicle about a mile down the street. The driver is now considered a person of interest as the case remains under investigation, the outlet reports.

Investigators plan to conduct a blood draw on the person of interest, which is standard procedure in serious crashes rather than a sign that alcohol is suspected. Investigators do not believe alcohol was a factor, the station's report notes. That kind of testing is authorized under Indiana law for any driver involved in a crash resulting in serious bodily injury or death, regardless of whether officers see immediate signs of impairment, according to FindLaw's summary of Indiana Code § 9-30-7-3.

What the Driver Could Face

Leaving the scene of a crash that causes moderate or serious bodily injury is classified as a Level 6 felony under Indiana Code § 9-26-1-1.1, according to FindLaw, carrying a potential sentence of six months to two and a half years in prison along with fines of up to $10,000. Indiana law requires drivers involved in any crash to stop immediately and render reasonable aid. Even with the vehicle located, proving who was actually behind the wheel at the moment of impact remains a critical step for prosecutors in hit-and-run cases like this one, particularly when they unfold late at night and rely on surveillance footage or eyewitness accounts, per Langer & Langer.

The Southeastern and Sherman intersection has drawn emergency attention before. In April 2025, a CSX freight train derailed there, shutting down Southeastern Avenue between Sherman Drive and Rural Street for a multi-day cleanup, as reported by WTHR. The corridor sits in IMPD's Southeast District, which led all district branches with 12,498 traffic stops in 2025 out of more than 20,000 citywide, per IMPD News.

A City Grappling With Pedestrian Deaths

Friday's crash lands amid intensifying scrutiny of pedestrian safety across Marion County. Safe Streets Indy tracked 79 traffic fatalities and 138 serious injuries across Indianapolis through early December 2025, according to WFYI. Statewide, pedestrian deaths climbed 26% in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period the year before, with 49 fatalities recorded versus 39, per data compiled by Glaser & Ebbs.

In response, the Indianapolis Vision Zero Task Force approved a 102-page action plan in December 2025 aimed at eliminating all traffic deaths and severe injuries on city roads by 2035, covering everything from infrastructure redesigns to speed management and post-crash care. The city followed up in March 2026 by launching a dedicated Fatal Crash Review Team and a “Quick Build” unit that can evaluate severe crash sites and roll out temporary safety fixes, like lane separators, within weeks of an incident, WFYI reported.

Friday's crash adds to a string of hit-and-run cases IMPD has investigated across the city this year. In June, detectives arrested and formally charged a 24-year-old suspect in a separate hit-and-run pedestrian collision at East Raymond Street and I-65 on the near south side, according to WTHR. It remains to be seen whether IMPD will pursue Level 6 felony charges in the Southeastern Avenue case once investigators finish interviewing the person of interest and complete the blood draw.