INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana State Police trooper has died after being hit by a suspect’s car during a stolen vehicle pursuit on the city’s west side.
According to ISP officials on scene, the collision occurred around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday on Interstate 70 eastbound near 6 Points Road on the west side of Indianapolis.
ISP Master Trooper Nick Klingkammer said that the incident began as a police chase after troopers with ISP’s Indianapolis district spotted a stolen car on the city’s southwest side.
Troopers attempted to pull over the car, but ISP said a pursuit began. Trooper then chased the suspect vehicle to Ronald Reagan Parkway, where one trooper was attempting to deploy stop sticks to stop the car and terminate the pursuit.
That trooper was then struck by the suspect vehicle and thrown into the air, according to ISP. The suspect vehicle, Klingkammer said, then crashed after hitting the trooper.
Klingkammer said that the injured trooper was taken to Eskenazi Hospital in critical condition. Later, around 11 p.m., ISP announced outside the hospital that the trooper had been pronounced dead.
ISP Superintendent Doug Carter identified the deceased trooper as Aaron Smith, a trooper that joined the department in 2018. He is survived by a loving wife, Carter said.
“He was one of those guys that stood out,” Carter said. “Not to be cliche but he was a shining star for the Indiana State Police.”
According to an ISP post from 2018, Smith was a native of Whiteland and a 2008 graduate of Whiteland High School. He joined the Army National Guard in 2011 and joined ISP in 2018. He previously worked in insurance and construction. His photo, via ISP, is below:
Near the collision scene, shown on a Department of Transportation camera and from our crews below, state police, IMPD, Plainfield PD, Hendricks Fire and EMS crews are responding. Klingkammer said that detectives and crash reconstructionists are responding as well.
“This is not only a crash investigation, but also a criminal investigation,” Klingkammer said.
In an update around 11 p.m., ISP Superintendent Carter said that the criminal investigation has become quite complex. He also said that there is video of the incident that will be used to investigate.
All of the occupants of the suspect vehicle, of which there were multiple, were taken to local hospitals and are expected to survive.
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