An Indianapolis man has been sentenced to eight years in prison for a hit-and-run crash that killed 32-year-old Avery Devon Neal, a man who had survived the 2021 mass shooting at an Indianapolis FedEx facility only to die walking across Michigan Road four years later. Dominique Lamont King pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident causing death and obstruction of justice under a plea deal, with prosecutors dropping an attempted obstruction of justice charge.
The crash happened just before midnight on Oct. 4, 2025, when IMPD officers were called to the 6800 block of Michigan Road after a person was struck by a car, according to Fox 59. Investigators determined a southbound vehicle struck Neal as he walked from the east side of Michigan Road to the west side. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Neal was identified as the victim by police, according to WRTV.
Neal had walked away shaken but physically unharmed from the 2021 mass shooting at the FedEx facility in Indianapolis, a detail that underscored the tragedy of his death in the roadway years later, as reported by WTHR.
Debris, Plate Readers and a Taurus at a Repair Shop
Detectives built their case piece by piece. At the crash scene, they recovered road debris that included chunks of a blue driver's-side mirror, and a part number on the mirror indicated it came from a 2010-2019 Ford Taurus, the station's report states. Automatic license-plate-reader footage from the area then turned up a blue 2015 Ford Taurus registered to someone with the last name King.
On Oct. 8, officers located a matching blue Ford Taurus parked at a local collision repair shop, with driver's-side damage consistent with the crash, per the same account. Investigators obtained a search warrant to examine the vehicle, and police said the pieces recovered from the scene fit together in what the account described as “jigsaw puzzle fashion,” with the Taurus's VIN confirming it was the vehicle seen on Michigan Road the night Neal was struck.
Repair Shop Owner, Cellphone Data Tied King to the Car
A repair shop owner told detectives that a man named Dominique King had brought in the car for repairs and allegedly removed its license plate before leaving it behind. Investigators also received cellphone-record results on Oct. 23 that reportedly placed King's phone in the 6800 block of Michigan Road on the night Neal was hit and at the repair shop when the vehicle was dropped off, the article notes.
A probable-cause affidavit charging King with several felonies was filed on Oct. 29 in Marion Superior Court, Fox 59 reported. King was sentenced on Oct. 28, 2026, to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to leaving the scene of an accident causing death and obstruction of justice, with the attempted obstruction of justice charge dropped as part of the deal.
A Growing Pedestrian Safety Problem in Indianapolis
Neal's death adds to a troubling trend across the city and state. Indiana recorded 49 pedestrian deaths in the first half of 2024, ten more than the same period a year earlier, a 26% increase, according to Axios Indianapolis. Indianapolis alone recorded 41 pedestrian deaths in 2024. National pedestrian fatalities dropped slightly in the first half of 2024 compared with the first half of 2023.
The Indianapolis City-County Council established a Vision Zero Task Force in 2024, before Neal's death, aimed at eliminating all fatal and serious-injury crashes on city streets by 2035, Axios Indianapolis reported. Statewide, Indiana's pedestrian fatalities ticked up to 120 in Federal Fiscal Year 2024 from 107 the year before, according to the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute's Traffic Safety FFY24 Annual Report.
