UPDATE: 3:25 p.m. May 2
The adult male found fatally shot was identified Thursday afternoon by the Marion County Coroner’s Office as 35-year-old Ryan Hawkins.
Original story
One person is dead following an alleged road rage altercation Wednesday on Interstate 65 on the southside.
Just after 1 p.m. Wednesday, Indiana State Police dispatchers started receiving calls to their 911 center about a possible road rage incident that involved gunfire on I-65 near the 101.2-mile marker, just north of the County Line Road exit. Nearly simultaneously, they received information about a serious vehicle crash on I-65 northbound between Stop 11 Road and Emerson Avenue in Indianapolis, also north of the County Line Road exit. A car left the roadway and went into a drainage pond, said Sgt. John Perrine, an ISP spokesperson.
First responders came on the scene very quickly, finding an unresponsive adult male in the grass outside of the pond. Divers went in the water and determined there were no other people in the vehicle, which had sunk into the water, Perrine said.
He was ejected from the vehicle before it went into the pond, and was pronounced dead at the scene, Perrine said. The identity of the deceased male has not yet been released.
Before the crash, it was alleged that shots were being fired from inside one vehicle toward the vehicle found in the pond. The dead male had an injury consistent with a gunshot wound, along with injuries sustained from being ejected. Crime scene investigators also located what appeared to be bullet holes in the side of the crashed vehicle, Perrine said in an update Thursday.
Late Wednesday evening, detectives found the other vehicle believed to be involved in the incident. No arrests have been made at this time, he said.
The incident is just the latest in a growing list of violent road rage incidents to occur in Indianapolis area interstates over the last few years.
People are turning immediately to violence when it comes to conflict resolution, particularly on interstates, Perrine said. ISP has seen an “alarming spike” in interstate road rage shootings in the last several years, Perrine told reporters during a news conference Wednesday.
He also had a message for interstate drivers.
“Do not engage in any type of road rage, whether you’re the instigator or the victim,” he said. “No horn honking, no hand gestures because we’re seeing these incidents time and time again lead to violence.”
