Police say the northbound car crossed East Washington Street at high speed, went airborne and struck a southbound Kia head-on.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN — A 19-year-old woman was arrested after police said she drove a Chevrolet Camaro at high speed, went airborne over an east-side intersection and crashed head-on into another car early Sunday, killing the other driver on Indianapolis’ near east side.
Investigators said the crash happened just after 2 a.m. near North Sherman Drive and East Washington Street, a heavily traveled corridor east of downtown. The woman survived and was taken to a hospital. Police later said she was arrested on a preliminary charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated resulting in death. The man driving the other car, a white Kia Forte, was pronounced dead at the scene. His name had not been released Sunday because the Marion County Coroner’s Office had not yet completed family notification.
According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, East District officers were dispatched at about 2:04 a.m. to the first block of North Sherman Drive on a report of a personal-injury crash. When officers arrived, they found two badly damaged vehicles near the intersection, one a black Chevrolet Camaro and the other a white Kia Forte. Police said traffic-camera footage helped investigators piece together what happened in the seconds before impact. Officers said the Camaro was traveling north on Sherman Drive at a high rate of speed as it crossed East Washington Street. The car briefly went airborne, police said, then landed, veered into the southbound lane and struck the Kia head-on. The Kia’s driver, an adult man, was declared dead by medics at the scene. The Camaro driver was taken to a hospital with injuries that police later described as non-life-threatening.
The public account from police remained limited Sunday, but key details became clearer as the day went on. Early reports from local stations described the Camaro driver as a woman in critical condition after the crash. Later, police said the driver was a 19-year-old woman who had taken a chemical test and was arrested on a preliminary felony allegation tied to intoxicated driving. Authorities did not release the result of that test Sunday, and court records tied to any formal charge were not immediately described in the initial police summaries. Police also did not publicly identify the victim beyond saying he was the adult male driver of the Kia Forte. That left several important questions unanswered late Sunday, including how fast the Camaro was traveling, whether investigators believe alcohol, drugs or both were factors, and whether any surveillance or witness evidence shows what happened inside the seconds before the Camaro reached the intersection.
The crash happened at a well-known east-side crossroads where neighborhood traffic, commercial traffic and through traffic meet along East Washington Street, one of Indianapolis’ major corridors. City and regional planning documents have repeatedly flagged high-crash intersections and serious-injury corridors across Indianapolis as officials push a broader Vision Zero-style effort to reduce deadly and life-changing traffic wrecks. East Washington Street has also been the site of other severe crashes in recent years, adding to concern among residents and transportation planners about speeding and dangerous driving on multilane roads designed to move large volumes of cars. Sunday’s wreck fit a pattern that safety advocates and public officials have often warned about: a high-speed crash in the overnight hours, on a wide urban roadway, where a single driver’s loss of control can become instantly fatal for someone traveling the other way and following the rules.
Procedurally, the case now moves along two tracks. The Marion County Coroner’s Office is expected to identify the man who died once relatives have been notified and to issue the official cause and manner of death. Police detectives and crash investigators are expected to finish reconstruction work, review camera footage and complete toxicology and other lab testing tied to the arrested driver. A preliminary arrest does not by itself settle the final criminal case. Prosecutors will decide what formal charges, if any, to file after reviewing the evidence gathered by police. That review typically includes crash-scene measurements, vehicle damage, hospital records, toxicology findings and any available witness statements. Police had not announced a court date Sunday in the initial public updates, and investigators had not said whether additional charges could follow. They also had not disclosed whether the Camaro driver was wearing a seat belt or whether any mechanical issue was under review.
By daylight, the violence of the crash could be understood through the details police shared: a car moving so fast that it lifted off the roadway, crossed a major intersection and then slammed into oncoming traffic. The language investigators used was stark but measured. Police said the Camaro “briefly became airborne” while crossing East Washington Street, then “veered into the southbound lane” before hitting the Kia. That sequence suggested a crash that unfolded in moments but left a long trail for detectives to examine. For nearby residents and drivers, the case added to a familiar sense of alarm about reckless driving on Indianapolis arterial roads, especially overnight, when lighter traffic can tempt some motorists to accelerate. Even without the victim’s name, the outline of the loss was clear by Sunday afternoon: one man was dead, one young driver was under arrest, and another Indianapolis family was waiting for formal word from the coroner before the city could begin to reckon fully with what happened.
As of Sunday night, police had identified the arrested driver only as a 19-year-old woman and had not released the dead man’s name. The next public milestones are the coroner’s identification of the victim and any formal charges filed by prosecutors in the coming days.
Author note: Last updated March 15, 2026.