INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana State Police now say a heroin deal led to a fiery crash that killed one person injured five others Tuesday evening on Indy's east side.
ISP said on Tuesday that the pursuit started when troopers tried to pull over a 1999 Oldsmobile for unsafe lane movement and speeding on Post Road between 16th and 10th streets.
On Wednesday, ISP released more information, saying it believed Padgett was involved in a heroin transaction in the area of 25th Street and Post Road shortly before the chase and crash. The transaction had been under surveillance by police, and was what prompted the traffic stop.
State police say 37-year-old Mark Padgett was behind the wheel of the Oldsmobile. Padgett is accused of leading police on a roughly 4-minute pursuit until he crashed into a BMW on Brookville Road near Arlington Avenue. After striking the BMW, Padgett continued on Brookville Road until he struck a GMC pickup truck and his vehicle caught fire.
Two people in the pickup truck were taken to Methodist Hospital to be treated for non-life threatening injuries.
The driver and passenger in the BMW were taken to Eskenazi Hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries.
Padgett was taken to Eskenazi Hospital with broken bones in his right leg. His front seat passenger, 32-year-old Michael Ramsey, had to be extricated from the vehicle and was taken to Methodist Hospital, where he later died. An autopsy determined Ramsey died of multiple blunt force injuries.
On Wednesday, police said Padgett had been booked into the Marion County Jail on preliminary charges of resisting law enforcement resulting in death, reckless homicide and failure to return to lawful detention. A final charging decision will be made by the Marion County Prosecutor's Office.
The crash remains under investigation by Indiana State Police.
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