A half dozen felony charges, including reckless homicide, have been filed against an Indianapolis man accused of killing two people while attempting to flee police on the city’s south side.
The deadly incident began around 2:30 a.m. Saturday, when a Beech Grove officer was parked in his cruiser, watching traffic on Thompson Road.
The officer apparently saw the suspect driving at an excessive pace and pursued him. That resulted in a tragic crash, which was seen on camera.
Surveillance video shows the victim driving a white Nissan south on Keystone Avenue; when he begins to turn left on a green signal, a Dodge Challenger going north at 90 mph collides with the victim’s passenger side.
The crash turned the victim’s white automobile into a twisted mass of metal, killing the two innocent guys inside.
“Unfortunately, this was a preventable tragedy.” Drew Brown, an IMPD officer, stated that two persons died as a result of an unjustified event.
The crash killed 39-year-old German Fernando Hernandez Suazo and 34-year-old Carlos Roberto Chirinos Puerto. Both men were from Honduras.
Jerry Gutierrez, the Challenger’s driver, was 20 years old and injured his ankle.
Gutierrez is now facing charges of resisting law enforcement, causing death, and reckless homicide.
According to court records, a passenger in the suspect’s car who survived the incident claimed, “He told Jerry, ‘Just try to stop bro.’ and Jerry responded, ‘I think I got this.'”
“Someone made a decision to drive recklessly and two of our neighbors lost their lives and, unfortunately, we see this all too often,” Brown added.
According to Beech Grove police, the suspect turned off his headlights during the chase, and the pursuing officer ended the chase after traveling at speeds more than double the legal limit.
According to video, officers were still close enough to respond within 40 seconds of the incident, but both victims died on the spot.
Nearly a week later, automobile parts still litter the crash site.
IMPD hopes the case serves as a lesson to everyone that reckless driving can cost lives.
“I just wanted to underline that driving safely is a shared duty. Every time we get behind the wheel, we take on responsibility. “It only takes a second for a tragedy to occur if we are not responsible,” Brown stated.
Gutierrez is presently being held without bond pending his initial hearing, which is scheduled for next week.
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