HENDRICKS COUNTY — Court documents have revealed what led up to a deadly police chase crash that killed a 2-month-old baby and critically injured a toddler in Plainfield last week.
According to a probable cause affidavit, on February 5, Avon Police Officer Kevin Roach was investigating a stolen vehicle, which had been detected by license plate readers in the area. Based on intelligence indicating the Civic would be traveling on US 40, Officer Roach began monitoring the route.
Once he confirmed visually that the gray Honda Civic was indeed the stolen vehicle, Officer Roach activated his lights and sirens in an attempt to pull the driver, S'doni Pettis, over at the intersection of US 40 and Raceway Rd. However, Pettis accelerated away.
Continuing west on US 40, Pettis reached speeds of approximately 90 mph as he approached the intersection with Ronald Reagan Parkway. Pettis drove into oncoming traffic, resulting in a collision with a red Ford Explorer. The force of the impact caused the Explorer to catch fire and roll into the southbound lanes of the parkway.
The driver of the Explorer sustained serious injuries. Tragically, a two-month-old infant in the back seat was pronounced dead at the scene, while a three-year-old sibling suffered severe burns and remains in critical condition at a local hospital.
After the crash, Pettis was transported to the hospital and subsequently released. A search warrant was executed for a blood draw to assess his condition at the time of the incident.
During questioning, Pettis admitted he understood why the officer was pursuing him, acknowledging that he was operating a stolen vehicle and was aware of his probation status. Pettis confessed that he stole the vehicle from the north side on February 2. He also admitted to smoking marijuana an hour before he fled from police. Pettis allegedly told police he attempted to brake before the collision, though data from the vehicle's onboard system did not support this claim.
Pettis is charged with two counts of resisting law enforcement with a vehicle causing death, three counts of causing catastrophic injury while operating a vehicle with a Schedule 1 or 2 substance, and auto theft.
