A Dodge Durango slammed into the back of an Audi A6 turning near South Emerson Avenue and Paradise Court in Greenwood on August 23, sending the car spinning into the median before the men inside the Durango ran off on foot. Court documents allege the driver, 44-year-old Edgardo Serrano, was drunk and high on methamphetamine at the time, and that he abandoned the injured driver at the scene.
According to Fox 59, Greenwood police were called to the crash around 10:48 a.m. Witnesses told officers the Durango had been traveling at a high rate of speed just before impact, and that two men climbed out of the SUV and walked away from the scene. Officers later located Serrano at a nearby apartment complex, and he reportedly admitted he was one of the men who had been inside the vehicle.
Responding officers found the Audi's driver slipping in and out of consciousness, unable to communicate and moving lethargically, according to a probable cause affidavit reported by the Daily Journal. That driver has continued to suffer severe headaches and memory issues since the crash, per the same court filings cited by Fox 59.
What Investigators Found Inside the Durango
Police recovered liquor and beer containers inside the Durango, along with a rolled-up one-dollar bill, according to the police report cited by Fox 59. The Daily Journal's account of the same court documents specifies a mostly empty bottle of Don Julio Tequila Blanco, a plastic bottle containing clear liquid, two unopened cans from a 12-pack of Modelo Especial, and two folded bills on the driver's side floorboard. Officers also found powder that later tested positive for methamphetamine, and Serrano allegedly admitted to police that he had been drinking and was high on meth, telling investigators he had both drank and snorted the drug, according to court documents.
Serrano was supposed to be driving a coworker who was also in the Durango to a job site that morning, Fox 59 reports. He told officers he ran from the crash scene because he was scared. An associate identified as Jose Serrano told investigators that Edgardo Serrano takes prescription pain medication for his prostate, drinks alcohol, and holds a driver's license issued only in El Salvador — not a U.S. license, according to court documents reported by the Daily Journal.
Charges and Potential Prison Time
Serrano, who is from Indianapolis, faces four felony counts filed on September 1: leaving the scene of an accident resulting in serious injury, a Level 3 felony; operating a vehicle while intoxicated and causing serious injury, a Level 5 felony; possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony; and operating a vehicle without a license, a Level 6 felony, per Fox 59. He is being held in the Johnson County Jail and reportedly had an outstanding warrant out of California.
The Level 3 felony charge alone carries a fixed statutory prison sentence ranging from three to 16 years, with an advisory sentence of nine years and fines of up to $10,000, under Indiana Code § 35-50-2-5. Fox 59 reports Serrano could face up to 16 years in prison if convicted on that count. The OWI causing serious bodily injury charge separately carries one to six years under Indiana Code § 9-30-5-4, with an advisory term of three years, according to legal analysis published by Marc Lopez Law. Indiana law elevates a hit-and-run to a Level 3 felony specifically when a driver knowingly leaves the scene after committing OWI causing serious bodily injury, according to an explainer from Chambers Law Office.
A Corridor With a History of Fleeing Drivers
South Emerson Avenue has seen severe hit-and-run cases before. In March 2020, an Indianapolis driver struck a bicyclist from behind on the 2800 block of the same road and fled before a SWAT team eventually caught up with him, the Daily Journal reported at the time. The corridor functions as a major commercial and commuter artery linking Greenwood to Indianapolis, and it sits within a county that logged 3,805 total motor vehicle collisions and 15 traffic fatalities in 2022, according to crash data compiled by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.
The case also lands amid heightened local attention to crime crossing the Marion-Johnson county line. Johnson County Prosecutor Lance Hamner has previously noted that more than 40 percent of people booked into the Johnson County Jail live in neighboring Marion County, a dynamic he has cited while emphasizing a tough stance on out-of-county offenders committing major crimes in Greenwood and beyond. Civic and law enforcement leaders in Johnson County launched a regional public safety collaboration in July aimed at improving coordination across those municipal lines as crime spillover from Indianapolis continues to draw scrutiny.
The Audi driver's continuing headaches and memory problems could become a focus as the case moves through court, since Indiana's legal definition of serious bodily injury may hinge on the severity and permanence of those symptoms. It's the latest in a string of impaired and reckless driving cases to surface in the Greenwood area recently, following a 130 mph chase that ended in a rollover just days before Serrano's charges were filed.
