Police said the driver intentionally hit an IMPD car after a passenger threatened him with a gun and moved money from his phone.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN — An Uber driver who police said was being robbed at gunpoint on Indianapolis’ northeast side crashed into a police cruiser Tuesday night to get help, leading officers to arrest a 17-year-old passenger who then ran and tried to climb a barbed-wire fence.
Police said the episode began as a rideshare trip and quickly turned into an armed robbery in motion near North Sherman Drive and East 38th Street. Investigators said the teenage passenger pulled out a handgun, threatened to shoot the driver if he moved and used the driver’s phone to transfer money from several apps before ordering him toward an ATM. The case now sits with the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office for a charging decision, while several details, including how much money was taken and whether a gun was recovered, had not been publicly released by Thursday.
According to Indianapolis Metropolitan Police, the break in the case came when a North District officer spotted an SUV moving erratically in the 3800 block of North Sherman Drive on Tuesday. Police said the officer had stopped at an intersection when the SUV began swerving, jumped a curb and hit the rear driver’s side of the patrol car. What looked at first like a traffic crash quickly appeared to be something else. Officers said the driver looked frightened and distressed and repeatedly pointed toward the passenger seat. The driver later told police the crash was intentional. He had seen the marked police vehicle and decided the fastest way to get an officer’s attention was to hit it. Police said the move worked. As soon as the SUV made contact with the cruiser, the 17-year-old got out and ran. The officer chased him on foot and caught him as he tried to climb over a barbed-wire fence, police said. He was taken into custody without further incident.
The driver’s account, as described by police and repeated in local reports, filled in what happened before the impact. Officers said the teenager, riding as a paying passenger, suddenly pulled out a handgun during the trip and told the driver, “I will shoot you if you move.” Police said the teen took the driver’s phone and began transferring money from several apps into his own accounts. Investigators also said the passenger ordered the driver to go to an ATM, suggesting the robbery was still unfolding when the police cruiser came into view. The driver, identified in local reporting as Alex Kaluka, said the gun was pressed to his head during the encounter. Police have not publicly said where the ride began, where the passenger was headed or whether anyone else was involved. They also had not publicly released the exact amount of money transferred, whether the transactions were reversed or whether any cash was ultimately withdrawn. Because the suspect is 17, police identified him only as a juvenile.
The case stands out because the driver appears to have turned a collision into a distress signal in the middle of an armed crime. Police said the SUV’s contact with the cruiser was slight, but enough to force an immediate response and interrupt the robbery. That detail shaped nearly every part of the police narrative that followed. Officers said the driver was visibly shaken but alive, and no serious injuries were reported for the driver, the officer or the suspect. Indianapolis police also used the episode to stress how quickly a routine call for service can shift. What began as an officer noticing a vehicle drift in traffic became an armed robbery investigation within seconds. The location, near Sherman Drive and 38th Street on the city’s northeast side, is a busy corridor where an officer on patrol could spot unusual driving almost at once. That patrol presence, police suggested, was central to the arrest. The department publicly credited both the officer’s fast recognition of the emergency and the driver’s split-second decision to force contact with law enforcement.
For investigators, the next steps are more procedural. Police said the 17-year-old was arrested on preliminary charges of armed robbery and resisting law enforcement. In Indiana, preliminary charges announced by police are not the same as formal charges. The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office reviews probable cause information and decides what, if anything, will be filed in court. Because the suspect is a juvenile, it was not immediately clear by Thursday whether the case would remain in juvenile court or whether prosecutors would seek to move any part of it into adult court, a step reserved for certain serious offenses under Indiana law. Police also had not said whether the backpack the suspect allegedly tossed while running contained a weapon, the driver’s property or evidence tied to the electronic transfers. No court hearing had been publicly announced by Thursday afternoon. Investigators are also expected to document the vehicle damage, review any officer body camera footage and collect digital records tied to the money transfers described by the driver.
Local coverage added a human layer to the police account. The driver, who had been working rideshare trips on St. Patrick’s Day, described a rapidly tightening ordeal inside the SUV as the teenager allegedly took control of the route, the phone and the threat of violence. His words, brief but stark, matched the picture officers gave of a man trying to communicate fear without escalating the situation inside a moving vehicle. Police said that when the SUV stopped after striking the cruiser, the officer did not treat the incident as a routine fender bender for long. The driver’s gestures toward the passenger made clear that danger was inside the car, not behind it. IMPD later said it does not recommend hitting a police car to get an officer’s attention, but the department said it was grateful the officer responded quickly and that no one was seriously hurt. By Thursday, the case had become one of those rare crime stories in which a minor crash, a patrol officer’s instincts and a victim’s improvisation all combined to stop a robbery before it moved to its next stage.
As of Thursday, the teenager remained identified publicly only by age, and the formal charging decision was still pending. Police have said the key known facts are that a rideshare driver was threatened with a gun, money was moved from the driver’s phone and the suspect was arrested after fleeing from the SUV. The next milestone is the prosecutor’s review of the case and any court filing that follows.
Author note: Last updated March 19, 2026.