Police arrested a Greenwood man as the suspect in a hit-and-run that seriously injured two teens last week on Worthsville Road.
Eric B. Smith, 31, was arrested on two charges of leaving the scene of an accident with serious bodily injury, both Level 6 felonies, and driving while suspended. He was also cited for speeding, exceeding the maximum of 55 mph, according to online court records.
Three teenage boys were crossing the road at the Worthsville Road and U.S. 31 intersection in Greenwood when a dark-colored SUV struck two of them early in the morning Aug. 5, said Matt Fillenwarth, assistant police chief at the Greenwood Police Department.
One boy, who was taken to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, sustained a brain hematoma and a broken jaw, which required it be wired shut for a period of time. The other, who was taken to IU Health Methodist Hospital, had a skull fracture, broken humerus, which will require surgery, pelvis fracture, bruised and lacerated kidneys and a laceration on the right side of his stomach, according to a report from the Greenwood Police Department. Both were in stable condition after the accident, Fillenwarth said.
The driver, now assumed to be Smith, did not stop at the scene of the accident, and Greenwood detectives spent last week searching for him. Using car debris recovered from the scene, investigators determined the suspect vehicle was a 2009 to 2012 Chevrolet Traverse, according to the police report.
Greenwood police received several tips identifying Smith as the driver of the vehicle during the accident, the report said. Officers first went to Smith’s house but he was not there. A relative of Smith’s told the police he was a pharmacy technician, and gave police Smith’s attorney’s information, the report said.
Detectives got a hold of Smith’s attorney Friday, and received a search warrant for his car. After taking the debris from the accident and matching it with missing pieces on Smith’s 2011 Chevrolet Traverse and observing significant hood and windshield damage, detectives determined Smith’s car was involved in the hit and run, the report said.
Police interviewed Smith Monday at the Greenwood Police Department. He told police on Aug. 5, he was driving west on Worthsville Road when he thought he hit something. Smith stopped his car and spoke to the third teen at the scene, who told him he had just hit his two friends with his car, according to the report.
After observing the two injured teens, Smith told officers he feared he would “go away forever” due to his suspended license, so he fled the scene and hid the car, the report said.
Smith said during the interview he takes full responsibility for his actions, according to the report. He was taken to the Johnson County jail and released on $3,000 bond.
