A 4-year-old boy in Indiana was killed and two others injured after a driver ran a red light while speeding, according to authorities.
According to local outlets FOX 59, WTHR, and The Indianapolis Star, 4-year-old Alan Marcelo Salas-Garcia was riding in a trailer seat attached to the back of his father’s bicycle in Indianapolis on May 7 when a Dodge Charger sped through an intersection and struck them both.
According to an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) spokesperson, the driver was speeding east on Raymond Street around 9:15 p.m. local time when he ran the red light on State Avenue.
The car then jumped the curb and came to a stop in the grass. Police said the driver eventually fled on foot.
“The bicyclist was in the crosswalk,” IMPD Night Watch Captain Don Weilhammer told Fox 59. “[He] had the walk symbol.”
“The driver of the other vehicle hit by the Charger had a green light. So the bicyclist was well out, almost at the median crossing,” Weilhammer said. “So, it was not like they were trying to beat the light. It had been solid red for quite some time, allowing the light to turn green. The other car was clearly out in the intersection as well.”
The Star reported that Alan’s father, Cristobal Salas, was critically injured. The Dodge also collided with a Honda, whose driver had a green light at the time of the crash.
Alan was taken to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead at around 10 p.m. The father’s family told the Star on May 8 that he was in stable condition.
According to the Star, IMPD officers locked down nearby neighborhoods in an attempt to apprehend the driver, with drones and police dogs assisting in the search. After four hours, the driver had yet to be found, and the Star reported that no arrests had been made by May 9.
The Salas’ friends and neighbors, including the liquor store manager whose security cameras captured footage of the crash, spoke out about how much the incident has affected the community.
“The Charger was flying… “They did not even try to stop,” Tommy Jacob, general manager of nearby Quality Liquor, told the Star. “I have not stopped crying since yesterday. It is simply awful.”
Alan’s 17-year-old brother also spoke out about his death, telling the Star, “I still can not believe he is gone.”
Other residents told the newspaper that they hope the city takes steps to make the neighborhood safer for pedestrians.
“I could not believe what had happened to them. “They are like family,” Greg Howard, one of Salas’ neighbors, told the Star.
“It is like a highway over there,” he said about East Raymond Street. “People are constantly flying through it, making it unsafe for people to cross those roads safely.”
“All of this could have been avoided if we had followed the speed limit and paid attention to the lights,” Weilhammer said to FOX 59. “Slow down, we have two families that will undoubtedly be affected by this tragedy. Everything could have been avoided if they had not been speeding and ignored the red light.”
IMPD is asking anyone with information about the crash to contact investigators at (317) 327-2630.