An Indiana State Police trooper responding to a report of a car being followed southbound on I-65 near the 102-mile marker in Greenwood found a pursuit that would end with a vehicle barrel-rolling into a ditch, a man trapped upside down, and, according to court documents, a threat to kill. Vincent Perkins, 36, now faces felony resisting law enforcement and intimidation charges stemming from the early morning chase on August 23.
According to court documents cited by WTHR, Perkins fled at speeds exceeding 130 mph after a police officer activated emergency lights to conduct a traffic stop and Perkins initially appeared to slow down before speeding away. He allegedly wove in and out of traffic before taking the Whiteland exit at 100 mph, and then drove too fast into the Main Street exit, sending his vehicle into a ditch. The car rolled four to five times and landed on its hood, trapping Perkins inside, the outlet reports.
The man Perkins was chasing told officers he noticed a car tailgating him just inches from his bumper as he drove home to Greenwood from work in Lebanon, per the same account. He took two different exits trying to escape before police intervened and ended the pursuit. The victim spoke with officers about the incident on August 26.
Threats, a Fake Name, and a Confession
Once out of the wrecked vehicle, Perkins resisted medical care and had to be restrained, according to the report. He denied being the driver, telling officers he did not know his own name, that his name was Jackson, and that he did not know who had been driving — he later gave officers the name Vincent Jackson before his identity was confirmed. Officers described his demeanor as showing no remorse, the outlet notes.
Perkins allegedly threatened responding officers directly, saying, “I would knock your *** out,” and warning one, “I promise I'm gonna remember you.” He is also accused of stating plainly that he was going to kill the man he had been pursuing, telling officers, “I was gonna kill his a**,” and adding, “you don't call the police, you retaliate.”
Perkins told police that he and a friend had followed his buddy after seeing him leave a bar, and that he pursued the man because he allegedly conducted a drive-by shooting at him. Perkins said he told the driver to stop but that the driver kept going. It remains unresolved whether Johnson County prosecutors will pursue any charges tied to that alleged earlier drive-by shooting.
Weapons Recovered at the Scene
An officer found a black handgun on Perkins after the crash, and officers also found an AR-style rifle outside the vehicle with a round already in the chamber. Perkins was taken to the hospital following the crash. Whether additional weapons charges will be filed given those findings is an open question ahead of his court date.
Perkins was charged with resisting law enforcement, two counts of intimidation, reckless driving at an unreasonably high or low speed, and false identity statement with intent to mislead public servants. His initial hearing is scheduled for September 9, 2026, at 9 a.m.
How Indiana Law Treats a Fleeing Driver
Under Indiana Code § 35-44.1-3-1, fleeing a law enforcement officer in a motor vehicle after a visible or audible order to stop automatically elevates resisting law enforcement from a Class A misdemeanor to a Level 6 felony, carrying a potential six months to 2.5 years in prison, according to Banks & Brower. If prosecutors can show the driving created a substantial risk of bodily injury to others, the charge can escalate further to a Level 5 felony punishable by one to six years, per Keffer Hirschauer LLP.
The intimidation counts carry their own weight. Under Indiana Code § 35-45-2-1, communicating a threat to commit a forcible felony or targeting a law enforcement officer bumps intimidation from a Class A misdemeanor to a Level 6 felony, punishable by six months to 2.5 years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines, according to Justia Law. Reckless driving, meanwhile, is a Class C misdemeanor under Indiana Code § 9-21-8-52 carrying up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine, plus six points on a driver's license — a conviction that can escalate to a Class A misdemeanor if it causes bodily injury, per the Rathburn Law Office.
A Familiar Stretch of Dangerous Highway
The I-65 corridor through Greenwood and Whiteland in Johnson County has repeatedly been the scene of high-speed pursuits and multi-vehicle crashes, including a May pursuit that caused a four-car pileup and critical injuries on the same stretch of roadway. A national study published in JAMA Network Open identified 5,425 fatal pursuit-related crashes across the United States between 2009 and 2023, a trend that has pushed law enforcement organizations to advocate for stricter pursuit policies.
Similar tactics have surfaced elsewhere in central Indiana recently. In August 2026, an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer used a PIT maneuver on I-65 to stop a driver accused of fleeing at speeds exceeding 125 mph after an initial traffic stop, according to WTHR. Indiana appellate precedent also shapes how prosecutors structure charges in extended chases: in Paquette v. State of Indiana, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled that a driver engaged in a single continuous high-speed pursuit can only be convicted of one count of vehicle-resisting law enforcement, a limit that could bear on how Johnson County prosecutors ultimately charge Perkins's case.
