An adult male pedestrian died early Friday morning after being struck by a vehicle near 38th Street and North Irvington Avenue on Indianapolis’ east side, according to IMPD officers who responded to the scene. The driver stayed put after the collision, and investigators are still working to determine what led up to the crash.
Officers found the man after he had been hit, and he later died from his injuries, according to WTHR, which first reported the crash. His identity has not been released, and the station notes that details like the victim’s identity and contributing factors such as speed, lighting, or right-of-way remain open pending IMPD’s crash reconstruction investigation.
Because the driver remained at the scene, he is expected to cooperate with the standard post-crash protocol that follows any fatal collision in Indiana. Under Indiana Code § 9-30-7-3, officers are legally required to offer a portable breath test or chemical blood test within three hours to any driver involved in a crash resulting in serious injury or death, according to FindLaw. That requirement applies regardless of who investigators ultimately determine was at fault, since operating a vehicle on public roads carries implied consent to testing during fatal crash investigations.
A Corridor Already Flagged as High-Risk
The stretch of 38th Street where the crash happened sits along what regional transportation planners have designated as part of Central Indiana’s High Injury Network, a set of roadways where fatal and incapacitating collisions are disproportionately concentrated, per ThatCarHitMe.com. An analysis by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization found that roughly 5 percent of city streets account for nearly half of all fatal and severe crashes citywide…