A woman was struck by a car while retrieving a package from her mailbox on McFarland Road in Southport just after 7 p.m. Saturday, and the driver who hit her took off, leaving her to be treated for injuries at the hospital. Southport police say the vehicle briefly stopped after the collision before continuing away from the scene, leaving broken headlight parts scattered in the road as the only physical evidence left behind.
According to Fox 59, investigators have one eyewitness and a single Ring camera in the area to work with, along with the fragments of headlight debris, which were not enough to determine the vehicle's make or model. Police describe the driver as a white male and say the car is white, gray, tan, or champagne-colored, but they have not identified him. Southport Police Chief Thomas Vaughn said the driver “should have stopped and rendered aid” rather than driving away after hitting the woman.
Police Chase a Lead at a Vacant House
Investigators are now trying to track down the owner of a camera system spotted at an abandoned or empty house near the crash site, hoping it captured the moment of impact or the vehicle fleeing. Police say they still need to determine whether that camera system is even active and whether it holds any usable footage. The woman struck in the crash remains in the hospital recovering and is awaiting the driver's arrest, per the same report.
Southport officials told the outlet the crash marked the area's first in a number of years, a notable statement given how often the department pulls drivers over nearby. Officer Habibi said officers pull over roughly three people a day for speeding along the corridor, and separately noted that state law caps speeds at 40 miles per hour there. That figure sits above the posted limit: under Southport's municipal speed regulations, McFarland Road carries a 35 mph limit between Southport Road and Stop 11 Road, well above the city's general 20 mph limit elsewhere.
A Cut-Through Road With a History
McFarland Road functions as a popular shortcut for drivers heading to I-65 and US-31, according to the police account relayed by Fox 59, which helps explain both the heavier traffic and the elevated speed limit compared to Southport's residential streets. Police also say they heavily patrol the stretch because it runs near several churches, daycares, and Little League fields. Neighbors who spoke with the outlet said they hope the crash pushes drivers to slow down and pay closer attention to their surroundings.
The road has seen serious trouble before. In May 2024, a 17-year-old fleeing state troopers at speeds up to 115 mph ran a red light at the McFarland Road intersection before crashing head-on at Southport Road and Madison Avenue, according to WTHR. Southport itself is a compact “excluded city” within Marion County's Unigov system, spanning just 0.63 square miles in Perry Township about eight miles south of downtown Indianapolis, per Wikipedia. That status lets its own police force, rather than the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, handle enforcement in the small city of roughly 2,123 residents.
What Charges Could Look Like
Indiana law lays out a range of potential consequences for the driver once identified. Under Indiana Code § 9-26-1-1.1, leaving the scene of a crash that causes bodily injury is a Class A misdemeanor carrying up to a year in prison and a $5,000 fine, but the charge escalates to a Level 6 felony, punishable by six months to 2.5 years and up to $10,000 in fines, if the victim suffers moderate or serious bodily injury, according to FindLaw. If a crash results in death or catastrophic injury, failing to stop rises to a Level 4 felony, with a potential sentence of two to 12 years and fines up to $10,000. Which of those categories applies will depend on the medical severity of the Southport victim's injuries, a detail that has not been made public.
The Southport case adds to a string of recent hit-and-run incidents across the area. Hoodline previously reported on a hit-and-run pedestrian crash on Indy’s east side and a separate fatal hit-and-run on South State Avenue where both the fighter and the driver vanished. Safe Streets Indy recorded 79 traffic fatalities and 138 serious injuries across Indianapolis and Marion County through early December 2025, while statewide pedestrian fatalities in Indiana climbed 26% during the first half of 2024 compared with the year before, according to data compiled by Glaser & Ebbs. Southport Police Chief Vaughn, who has led the department since 2014, was named the Republican candidate for Marion County Sheriff in July for the November general election, giving him a broader leadership role across the county even as his department works this case.
Anyone with security footage or information about the crash is asked to contact Southport police or Crime Stoppers. Investigators have not said whether they believe speed was a factor in the collision, and the identity of the camera owner at the abandoned property remains an open question as the search for the driver continues.
