A 42-year-old Indianapolis man is set to plead guilty next week to reckless homicide and leaving the scene of a deadly crash that killed a 20-year-old New Palestine man near Southport Road in December 2023, under a plea agreement that would cap his prison time at 10 years despite an aggregate sentence of 15 years. Bradley Woods never faced a toxicology test the night of the crash, a gap that has shaped nearly every turn of the case since, from a 15-month delay before indictment to a plea deal that lets him avoid admitting he was driving drunk.
Woods was driving a black 2005 Ford F-350 eastbound on Southport Road on December 23, 2023, when witnesses reported his vehicle crossed the center line to pass other vehicles shortly before it struck a 1996 Honda Accord driven by Avery May near the intersection of Southport Road and Little Oak Lane, according to Fox 59. May, a 2022 graduate of New Palestine High School who was enrolled in the Ford ASSET Program at Parkland College, died from his injuries; he was posthumously awarded his certifications as a certified Ford mechanic in May 2024, according to an obituary published by Indiana Funeral Care. May's girlfriend, Rylee White, was riding in the passenger seat and suffered serious bodily injuries, as the couple was returning from getting food following a family Christmas party, per WTHR.
Woods left the intersection without remaining at the scene and failed to provide police with his name, address or vehicle registration, leaving the area before receiving police permission to do so, Fox 59 reports. That departure meant no chemical test was administered to Woods that night, and the missing evidence would go on to define the legal fight over how to charge him.
A 15-Month Path to Indictment
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears did not refer the case to a grand jury until 448 days after the crash, a delay the prosecutor's office attributed to unresolved legal questions about whether Woods had fulfilled his legal obligation to remain at the scene after calling his wife to drive him away, per the same WTHR report. Woods was reportedly indicted for driving while intoxicated and causing the fatal crash, according to previous reporting cited by Fox 59, though the article notes that no toxicology test ever confirmed impairment.
Because no toxicology test was administered that night, the proposed plea agreement allows Woods to plead guilty to non-impairment felony counts without admitting to driving while intoxicated, the station's report states. Under the deal filed in Marion Superior Court 7 on August 24, Woods would plead guilty to failure to remain at the scene of an accident resulting in death, a Level 4 felony; reckless homicide, a Level 5 felony; and criminal recklessness, a Level 6 felony. If Judge Marshelle Broadwell accepts the agreement, the state would dismiss 18 remaining pending charges, Fox 59 reports.
Statutory Exposure and the Sentence Cap
Leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death or catastrophic injury carries a statutory range of two to 12 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 under Indiana Code § 9-26-1-1.1, according to FindLaw. Reckless homicide, meanwhile, is a Level 5 felony under Indiana Code § 35-42-1-5 and § 35-50-2-6, carrying one to six years with an advisory sentence of three years. The plea agreement includes an aggregate sentence of 15 years, but the Indiana Department of Correction would impose a cap of 10 years, and Woods would also face a three-year driver's license suspension after release from any correctional facility and pay restitution determined by the court at sentencing, per Fox 59.
Woods has a change-of-plea hearing scheduled for Tuesday, September 8, at 9:30 a.m. in Marion Superior Court 7. If either side cannot reach final agreement, the case will proceed toward a jury trial, Fox 59 reports.
Wife Charged With Destroying Evidence
Woods' wife, Paige Woods, faces a Level 6 felony obstruction of justice charge for allegedly removing his blood from the scene to prevent it from being used as evidence in a criminal investigation, according to WIBC. The allegation helps explain why prosecutors were left without toxicology evidence tying Woods to alcohol impairment that night.
Bradley Woods was granted specialized driving privileges while awaiting trial in April 2025, when Judge Broadwell allowed him to commute to work at a south Indianapolis gym using an ignition interlock device, despite petition opposition from the victim's family, WTHR reported at the time.
Victim's Mother Faults Police Response
Following news of the plea agreement, Avery May's mother, Nina May, issued a statement criticizing the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department for failing to follow state law and internal protocol on the night of the crash by allowing Woods to leave without a toxicology test, according to a WTHR report. Her statement sharpens a question that has hung over the case since the crash: whether a different response at the scene in December 2023 could have produced the chemical evidence prosecutors never had.
The case adds to a string of fatal vehicular prosecutions moving through Marion County courts this year. A drunk driver was sentenced to 13 years last month after a 90 mph crash killed his own brother, and it follows a broader citywide push by the City-County Council, which established a Vision Zero Task Force in 2024 aiming to eliminate traffic deaths by 2035, even as advocacy data tracked more than 50 traffic fatalities in Indianapolis through late August 2026, per Hoodline's earlier reporting.
