An Indianapolis man will serve more than seven decades in prison after triggering a crash that killed two children while escaping from police.
On February 9, a court in Hendricks County sentenced 25-year-old S’Doni Pettis to 74 years in prison in total. Prosecutors requested a maximum sentence of 77 and a half years.
In January, Pettis pleaded guilty to three counts of resisting law enforcement, two counts of causing catastrophic injury while operating a vehicle, one count of causing death while operating a vehicle, one offense of conversion, and one act of auto theft.
The crash on February 5, 2025, killed three-year-old Ares Vawter and two-month-old Iris Moore. Both youngsters were laid to rest on March 12 at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Greenwood.
Pettis has been held at the Hendricks County Jail since his arrest following the crash, and he will be moved to the Indiana Department of Corrections at a later date.
Pettis has 30 days to appeal, but just for the sentence. He cannot challenge his conviction because he pleaded guilty.
“No sentence is going to be justice,” Hendricks County Prosecutor Loren Delp told 13News after the hearing. “We cannot bring back Ares and Iris. From day one, this family has just been the epitome of strength in light of the circumstances. Today was no exception.”
The incident
According to court filings, an Avon police officer ran a license plate on a gray Honda Civic Sport around 9:15 a.m. on February 5, 2025, and discovered that the vehicle had been reported stolen out of Marion County. The car was reported stolen three days ago in the 2300 block of North New Jersey Street, near Central Avenue on Indianapolis’ near north side.
Court filings state that the driver, later identified as Pettis, failed to pull over at U.S. 40 and Raceway Road, resulting in a brief pursuit. As the suspect vehicle approached the crossroads of U.S. 40 and Ronald Reagan Parkway, it collided with another car, which caught fire.
Jack Vawter told 13News that her fiancé, Shadow Moore, was driving their two children, 2-month-old Iris and 3-year-old Ares, to their grandparents’ house when their car was hit, killing both children.
Multiple witnesses told investigators that the suspect vehicle had a red light when it entered the intersection and hit the victim’s automobile.
Officers and good Samaritans jumped in to help Moore and the children get out of the car. According to Vawter, Ares was taken from the car and rushed to the hospital with burns covering 60% of his body.
Police reported that Avon officers on the scene sustained injuries while assisting those involved in the incident. The officers were treated and then released from the hospital.
During an interview with detectives, Pettis allegedly acknowledged stealing the car on February 2 after seeing it unoccupied and with the door open.
According to court filings, Pettis claimed he observed the Avon police attempt to stop him near U.S. 40 and Raceway Road, but decided to leave because he knew he was driving a stolen vehicle.
Detectives also obtained a search order for the stolen car, whose data revealed that it was traveling at 95 mph just five seconds before the incident. At the time of impact, the stolen vehicle was traveling at around 88.9 mph. According to court filings, there were no obvious skid marks at the scene, and no brakes appeared to have been engaged prior to the incident.
According to court filings, Pettis broke probation several times in the year leading up to his arrest in the crash, including testing positive for THC during multiple drug tests, failing to submit to multiple drug screenings, and submitting multiple negative drug screens.
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